Saina Nehwal reached the second round of the Malaysian Open after a spirited display put on by her on Wednesday. Other Indian badminton stars who were equally gracing on par with Saina were Parupalli Kashyap and Gurusaidutt who reached the next round in order to set fight with their respective opponents. Perhaps, this is the first time ever since the conclusion of London Olympics last year that maximum of the Indian players have come good. Fans back home are upbeat with the scintillating performances of their favorite stars and hope them that they continue the same form to win the coveted title.
However, it was the loss of P V Sindhu that was the biggest disappointment in the tournament so far as she crashed out at Kaula Lumpur. In contrast, the double’s team came back to form when it mattered the most. Ashwini Ponnappa teamed up with her new doubles partner Pradnya Gadre in the absence of her regular partner Gutta Jwala. The nervousness was evident with the lack of proper chemistry as they are new to each other playing for the first time on the international circuit. However, it was Ashwini’s class and experience that helped them in winning.
Ever since Ashwini has moved to her venue in Bengaluru, she improved her game plan so that she could come good before the actual season begins. She and Garde have gelled well to overcome the threat posed by Yu Yan Vanessa Neo and Dellis Yuliana of Indonesia 20-22, 21-16, 21-15. It is highly anticipated that the Indian duo will continue their winning streak in order to secure a medal for India. However, the biggest barrier will be created by the Chinese players for sure about whom the Indians should be extremely careful of.
Meanwhile, top seed Saina displayed her histrionics yet again and proved to others that why she is considered as one of the best players to have adorned the game in recent times. Her timing and placement were something that needs a pat for sure. The gritty Hyderabad girl drowned the hopes of Juan Gu yet again against whom she never lost a match. Eventually, the Singapore girl was sent packing with 21-12, 21-15 in just 28 minutes. The Indian No 1 will take on Pui Yin Yip of Hong Kong. However, it was the shocking defeat of Sindhu that came as a big surprise to even her fans.
During the other matches, it was the all-Indian match that produced a result in which Gurusaidutt emerged winner as he dashed the hopes of his compatriot Sourabh Verma to reach the next round with 21-11, 21-14. There were more cheers for the Indian badminton fans in the form of Kashyap’s win who required just three games to come back after World No. 29 Takuma Ueda of Japan 21-14, 16-21, 21-5. Though it was Kashyap who evoked some nervous moments by losing the second set, the decider was won by the Indian in a gracing manner by humiliating his opponent without any chances of recovery.
