NEW DELHI: Badminton at the elite level is unforgiving.
Malvika Bansod and Priyanshu Rajawat can attest to that. While facing elite-status opponents in their respective matches in the ongoing India Open on Wednesday, the singles specialists went toe-to-toe to leave a notable impression. Although that didn't stop them from being on the losing side, they walked away with a valuable lesson or two.
Malvika stood against Han Yue, the World No 3 shuttler from China while Priyanshu locked horns with Kodai Naraoka, the World No 6 from Japan. Under normal circumstances, a first-round loss is something that can be soul-crushing. But for someone like Malvika and Priyanshu, the manner in which they operated on the day was uplifting.
Malvika's game had grace written all over it, especially in the opening stanza. The 23-year-old southpaw was manipulating the shuttle with plenty of poise. Despite a healthy dose of crafty work, Malvika found herself in survival mode towards the end (two game points against her). However, she remained unfazed and went on to pocket the game.
Han was a different beast at the start of the second game. Ruthless and efficient, there was a clear gap in quality between the two then. But Malvika yet again displayed quality to escape from a situation of hopelessness to flip the script. But she could not sustain that quality this time, thereby conceding the game to the Chinese shuttler.
The third game was as engaging as the opening two games but eventually, Han proved to be too powerful on the day. The score read 22-20, 16-21, 11-21 in Han's favour.
This was certainly a spirited effort but as ruthless it might sound, wins are a must in order to stay relevant and Malvika, who has been looking to become a regular fixture at the highest level, is aware of the enormity of the challenge ahead of her. "The road ahead is quite steep. But I have done pretty well since the second-half of last year. From June onwards, I have put up some consistent performances, which has helped me raise my rankings from late 40s to 27. To keep up this momentum, a lot of hard work is required," Malvika told reporters after her contest.
"I have qualified for the All England Championships and I'm in the race to qualify for the World Championships. So, I'll have back-to-back major events in 2025 and I'm looking forward to some solid performances," she added.
Priyanshu, who is World No 38, had a somewhat similar tale against his Japanese opponent. And like Malvika, Priyanshu is also running the races to be in the company of top guns. The 22-year-old lost 16-21, 22-20, 21-13.
Lakshya, Prannoy out
As the sun went down, it was a gloomy atmosphere as Lakshya Sen put up a tame performance to crash out, his second successive Round of 32 exit. It was quite odd as Lakshya is known for his courage, his 'never give up' attitude. That mantra is engraved in his mind and on his right arm. But that seemed to have evaded after a morale-draining first-game loss against Chinese Taipei's Lin Chun-yi. He never quite recovered after that early jolt and eventually lost 21-15, 21-10. "I couldn't really play my game today. The movement was a slow day and I wasn’t really getting under the shuttle. Credit to him, he played really well. I could have played a bit more patiently, and not given him too many chances. I was prepared for a tough match and had prepared well against him," a visibly dejected Lakshya told reporters after the match.
HS Prannoy also ended on the losing side earlier. The Indian lost 16-21, 21-18, 21-12 against Su Li Yang. Anupama Upadhyaya came out on top in an all-Indian women's singles contest against Rakshitha Sree Santosh Ramraj. The former national champ won 21-17, 21-18 in 43 minutes.
Ashwini Ponnappa-Tanisha Crasto, Rutuparna Panda-Swetaparna Panda (women's doubles) found success on the day along with the mixed doubles pair of Ashith Surya and Amruta Pramuthesh.