Jwala-Diju, Kashyap salvage day for India after Sridhar and Bhat bow out in opening round.
There was little for India to cheer at the end of the opening day’s matches (main draw) of the Badminton Asia Championships at Siri Fort Sports Complex on New Delhi on Wednesday.
Despite the lack of a strong draw, most of the country’s fancied names lost in the first or second round; the day was salvaged by Saina Nehwal, Aditi Mutatkar, P Kashyap and the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju.
Saina hardly broke a sweat in her 21-10 21-13 dismissal of World Junior Championships runner-up Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand, earning a second round meeting with Julia Wong of Malaysia in less than half-an-hour.
It was a breezy beginning to the tournament for the No.1 seed, who led 11-0 at the first break. “It was easier than I expected,” said Saina.
Most of the other contenders for the title — such as Zhou Mi, Wong Mew Choo and Yip Pui Yin — too progressed, as did Aditi Mutatkar, who, playing her first competitive match after a knee injury, got past the tenacious Singaporean Fu Mingtian in three sets. Compatriots Sayali Gokhale, Trupti Murgunde and Neha Pandit couldn’t get past the first round.
India were disappointing in the men’s singles. While Anand Pawar was unlucky to draw world champion Lin Dan in the second round, Anup Sridhar and Arvind Bhat were left mulling missed opportunities.
Sridhar was beaten by the relatively unknown Malaysian Lok Chieh Chong in straight games and was honest enough to blame himself. “I thought I was fitter, but obviously I’m not,” he said. “I was unable to play the long rallies at that fast pace, and that’s why there were so many errors.” What next, asked someone, to which he replied, only half in jest: “I don’t know... maybe suicide.”
Bhat recovered from a first set deficit against Korean Hong Ji Hoon to take the second but fell in arrears early in the third and was packed off 21-6.
P Kashyap, however, had a great day. He had a surprisingly easy first round win over the tough Hong Kong player, Wing Ki Wong, and rode that
momentum to get the better of Indonesia’s Tommy Sugiarto.
Apart from the Indian interest, there were some excellent matches which brightened the proceedings at a venue that’s a disgrace for this level of badminton.
The match of the day was between All England finalist Kenichi Tago and out-of-favour Malaysian Kuan Beng Hong.
Beng Hong, runner-up at this event in 2005 and once the No.3 in his country, has been adrift for a while but on Wednesday he displayed tremendous fighting ability against an opponent who was expected to smother him. Tago was left chasing shadows in the first game but slowly asserted himself in the second.
The third could have gone either way, but Tago was steadier under pressure and pulled through.
Meanwhile, No.2 seed Lin Dan didn’t have to rely on his bigger weapons but was still untroubled by Pawar. “He was very fast,” said Pawar. “He can
increase the pace suddenly, and it’s tough to keep up at that level. He keeps pushing everything back, doesn’t allow you any opportunities at the net.”
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