Hyderabad: India had a bittersweet day at the office, with the men’s side registering a close victory over China and the women’s side crumbling in the face of a Japanese onslaught at the Badminton Asia Championships here on Thursday. In Friday’s quarterfinals, the men’s team face Malaysia while the women take on Korea. The men won all their singles matches while the women lost all of theirs. Kidambi Srikanth, Ajay Jayaram and H.S. Prannoy starred in India’s narrow 3-2 victory over the Chinese. Later in the day, P.V. Sindhu squandered a one-game advantage and set the tone for India, who lost the tie 0-5.
Earlier, the Indian men had put on a show to remember for the home fans, edging top seeds China 3-2 in a thrilling tie. Srikanth was clinical in his 21-11, 21-17 victory over Houwei Tian. The early cheer dissipated once the men’s doubles pairs took the court. China’s Junhui Li and Zhan Qui defeated Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy 22-20, 21-11 and restored parity in the tie. Ajay Jayaram helped India roar back into the lead with a rousing 22-20, 15-21, 21-18 win against Zhengming Wang. Ajay went toe to toe with his opponent, barely managing to win the opener 22-20. Wang hit back, taking the second 21-15 and forced the match into the decider. A see-saw final game saw the Indian win 21-18.
The Chinese once again pulled level, this time through Yilv Wang and Wen Wang, who whacked Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar 21-10, 21-18. It all came down to the match between H.S. Prannoy and Yuqi Shi, which Prannoy won in straight games 21-14, 21-10.
Intanon primed for big time:
From the high of winning a world championship to the ignominy of an injury-enforced lay-off, Ratchanok Intanon has seen it all. The 21-year-old had, in 2013, become the youngest singles world champion in badminton history when she defeated reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui. Since then, however, frequent injuries and subsequent bad form had seen her career graph dip. The Thai wunderkind however, is determined to claw her way back into contention in the build-up to the Olympic Games.
“I’m injury-free right now. My body feels strong and I’m training hard to make my way back to the top,” she said after her straight games 21-12, 21-18 victory over Chinese Taipei’s Yu Po Pai at the Badminton Asia Team Championships here on Thursday. Ratchanok, currently ranked World No.4, is coached by Pattapol Ngernsrisuk, who had “discovered” her at his family-owned sweets factory in Bangkok. “Her parents worked at our factory, and they sent her to the courts for fitness. It was then we realised she was really good at badminton,” Pattapol said.
She got serious about badminton at the tender age of six and, as they say, the rest is history. Her recent travails not-withstanding, Ratchanok is quietly confident about her chances of getting back to the top. “There are quite a few good players in the top bracket,” Ratchanok said. “Beating them would be hard, but I’m prepared to do whatever it takes.” Talk invariably turned to Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu, both of whom she had beaten in the past. While dismissing suggestions that either player is a dangerous opponent, the Thai shuttler acknowledged that both players present different challenges. “Sindhu is tall and has a more attacking game while Saina is craftier, and tries drawing you into long rallies. They are both challenging in their own ways,” Ratchanok said.
