Shuttlers must pull their socks up
The way the first competition of the year panned out, the Indian team would love to scoff at it and march on with more focus and determination.
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Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal (File Photo | EPS)
There’s no doubt that badminton is a premier sport in our country. It has produced medals at the last two Olympics London and Rio de Janeiro and at the World Championships too. There are shuttlers who have occupied the number one spot. With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics postponed to this summer, India is looking at the sport with a billion hopes.
Tough openers for Thai singles stars
Tough openers for Thai singles stars
BADMINTON: The Toyota Thailand Open, the second of three consecutive premier tournaments in the Asian leg in Bangkok, starts today (Jan 19) as organisers hailed the first week as a success.
Tuesday 19 January 2021, 09:33AM
Sapsiree Taerattanachai and Dechapol Puavaranukroh on their way to winning the mixed doubles title at the Yonex Thailand Open on Sunday. Photo: Bangkok Post.
The opening event, the Yonex Thailand Open, ended on Sunday with Thailand’s mixed doubles duo Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai claiming their maiden title in a Super 1000 tournament.
Like last week’s event, the Toyota Thailand Open is a Super 1000 tournament and offers a total purse of US$1 million (B30mn).
PV Sindhu eases into second round of Thailand Open
By IANS |
Published on
Tue, Jan 19 2021 9:36 IST |
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PV Sindhu. Image Source: IANS News
Bangkok, Jan 19 : World champion PV Sindhu on Tuesday cruised into the second round of the Toyota Thailand Open after registering a comfortable win over local Busanan Ongbamrungphan.
Sindhu defeated Ongbamrungphan 21-17, 21-13 in a match that lasted for 43 minutes and entered the next round of the $1,000,000 tournament. This was Sindhu s first win since the resumption of badminton after the Covid-19-induced break.
Ongbamrungphan, who had ended Saina Nehwal s run at the Yonex Thailand Open en route to the quarter-finals last week, opened up a 13-8 lead in the opening game as Sindhu seemed to be suffering from a lack of competitive match play. However, the ace Indian shuttler brought all her experience into play towards the end of the game to win it 21-17.
Thailand Open W2W4: Sindhu s slump, Saina s struggles, India s doubles hopes
Thailand Open W2W4: Sindhu s slump, Saina s struggles, India s doubles hopes
PV Sindhu has not reached a single World Tour event semifinal since becoming World Champion in 2019.
AP Photo/Vincent Thian
Other than a couple of exceptions, the return to action of India s top badminton players at the Yonex Thailand Open was rather lacklustre, with most performances ranging between tepid and insipid. A field devoid of Chinese and Japanese players presented a great opportunity for the Indians to make a deep run at the tournament. However, none of the Indians managed to go beyond the second round.