World No.9 Parupalli Kashyap had emerged as the single bright spot as all other Indian players lost their corresponding matches on Tuesday in Basel at the $125,000 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold. Kashyap has been in his career defining form these days showing some of the gritty performances though he could not win any medal as of now.
In men’s singles schedule at St. Jakobshalle, only fifth seed Kashyap managed to advance to the second round while Sourabh Varma and K Srikanth ended their campaign in the first round of the tier three tournament. Considering the performances of Indians on an overall, it was below par one with no hopes of carrying forward. Definitely, this has shown the kind of class required to represent the nation at the top level .Very few players have reached such level matching with the likes of Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Diju and PV Sindhu apart from Saina Nehwal and Kashyap himself.
London Olympics quarterfinalist Kashyap eased past Hsuan Yi Hsueh of Chinese Taipei in straight games, winning 21-7, 21-19 in 33 minutes. This was the Hyderabadi’s second win in as many matches over the World No.75 Hsueh. It was a delightful win and has come as a breather for the hardcore Indian fans who have been looking for the best results. It can now be hoped that Kashyap might continue his brilliant form on the court by winning a medal for the country at least this time.
Meanwhile, it was during other matches as per schedule during which World No.43 Varma lost in the main draw of 64 to Indonesian 14th seed Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka in three games in 58 minutes. Rumbaka won 11-21, 21-18, 23-21 in their first ever career meet. While Srikanth went down in a spirited fight to Danish fourth seed Jan O Jorgensen 21-10, 17-21, 13-21 in 47 minutes. This was Srikanth’s first ever match opposite the World No.13. Subsequently, there are no more surprises with all these stars ending their campaigns on a bitter note, which is not all good for the entire team.
Earlier in the day, Arundhati Pantawane, PC Thulasi and Tanvi Lad failed to qualify for the main draw of the women's singles. Though the duo had been offered with enough chances, there were no significant results obtained because of the lack of spirited performance that was best cashed by the opponents in a perfect manner.
While Arundhati managed to reach the second and final round of the qualifiers, Thulasi and Tanvi went down in the first round itself.
Men's doubles specialists Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy also failed to make the main draw after reaching the second round of qualification. Amidst all these terrible performances put in the Indians, it can be considered that Kashyap has been waging a lone battle against all odds. The young and energetic player now needs to show all that confidence, which is needed to win matches at the highest level in a perfect manner. Perhaps, this is exactly the fans expect as well.
