CHENNAI : It’s not easy when you lose against the top-seeded team and face the defending champions the following day. Emotions sometimes can take over even the toughest of the lot. Tears were rolling down Joshna Chinappa’s cheeks after losing to Hong Kong’s Annie Au in India’s last league match in the women’s squash team event on Thursday.
But it is the way you react that defines the true mettle of an athlete, especially when you are pitted against one of the best. “I have lost count of how many times I lost to Nicol,” Joshna said after sealing a final berth for India with a 12-10, 11-9, 6-11, 10-12, 11-9 win over eight-time world champion Nicol David.
“We came with a lot of confidence and were determined to win gold. Despite me going 2-0 up, she came back. Nothing was over till it was all over. You have to be on top of your game to beat Nicol. Yesterday, I didn’t play like myself because there was a lot of pressure. But it’s about how you handle it. Happy that I bounced back,” the World No 17 said after beating the World No 9.
Joshna’s inspiring display set the tone for the second match, in which Dipika Pallikal beat World No 5 Low Wee Wern 11-2, 11-9, 11-7. The 26-year-old, who has never beaten Nicol and lost to her in the singles semifinal at the Games, knows how difficult it is to play the legend. “Against Nicol, one has to be really strong. She can come back anytime. I drew a lot of confidence from Joshna’s match when I played against Wern, who is among top five. We’re just happy to be in the final. We’ve beaten players from Hong Kong on the pro circuit. I don’t understand why we don’t stand a chance against them,” Dipika said.
More commendable is the way the result was achieved, despite not having a smooth build-up to the tournament. Preparations were marred by controversies when senior players expressed displeasure over not having a proper coach. Even during the tournament, Dipika said that fellow players were trying to help each other out with tactics during matches, instead of coaches Cyrus Poncha or Bhuvneshwari Kumari.
Poncha put all that aside. “After losing to Hong Kong, the girls were charged up. They took it as a wake-up call and gave it their all against Malaysia. But we have one more test and there is nothing to lose. Hong Kong are the top seeds. But we are positive of getting a gold. I think the girls will emulate what the boys did four years ago,” he said.
vimalsankar@newindianexpress.com