HYDERABAD:Even as all attention is on India’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, there is another doubles duo — Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Attri — who have been quietly creating ripples in world badminton. This pair is riding the crest of a wave of success as they became just the second Indian men’s doubles combination, after Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas, to make it to a Grand Prix final.
Ranked 26th in the world, Reddy and Attri continued their dream run in the US Open Grand Prix Gold tournament in New York when they ousted No 4 seeds Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan 21-17, 21-17 in 34 minutes to set up a summit clash with the Chinese pair of Junhui Li and Yuchen Lui, who are ranked 29th.
Twenty-four-year-old Reddy and 23-year-old Attri had earlier upset second seeds Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Noriyasu Hirata (15th) in three tough games in the second round, before beating the English duo of Marus Ellis and Chris Langride in the next round.
An elated Reddy said it was a very good win. “We’ve been playing some good badminton. On Saturday, we had a good grip of the match from the first game. We kept the momentum going, and despite them taking a lead in the second game, we snatched the lead to seal the match,” he said, adding, “Our win against the second seeds earlier in the tournament was a big morale booster for us.”
Their previous best show in an international tournament was a semifinal place in this year’s Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold tournament at Lucknow, where they lost to Vladimir Ivanov and Ivan Sozomov (Russia).
National coach Pullela Gopichand was happy with the result. “It was on the cards as they’ve been playing consistently and have beaten many of the top ten pairs. It’s only that they are not able to back it up with that one big win, which has been their undoing. I’m sure this final would put them in a better frame of mind for future tournaments,” said Gopichand, who in a way may have silenced his critics who were clamouring that he has not been encouraging doubles in the country.
Reddy said luck plays a big factor. “In such a fast-paced game, a few silly mistakes can cost you the match. We’ve been working on our mental toughness. We have the speed and skills but sometimes lack of power does make us vulnerable. We’re a three-year old pair and I’m sure with little more experience, we can break into the top ten. It’s all about consistency.”
