Superimposed pic: Nitu & Abhishek voted in Election 2009.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Women's Singles Quarter Final Match of Yonex India Open 2009
One mail started it all … last year it was mine, this year it was some other badminton enthusiast inside Microsoft. So the mail said that Yonex India Open is happening in Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad, which is almost next door to Microsoft's office and few mins drive from my home. Actually last year I had sent a similar mail asking for enthusiasts to join and cheer the national players but last year India Open didn't happen in Hyderabad because of bomb blasts in Hyderabad. :( … So this year I was doubly excited to go.
The Match
As of this morning, the lone Indian survivor in singles event was predictably Saina Nehwal. She was to meet Julia Wong of Malaysia in Women's singles QF around 3:20. Nitu, Adi and I reached the stadium around 3:15. Apoorv, Pratyush, Simran were already there. The stage was set for a good afternoon :)
Build Up
A decent crowd had actually collected for cheering their national hero(ine). (These days I don't know what's the politically correct word to use for a female player after watching the actress vs female actor debate in those filmfare awards!) The event managers kind of anticipated a big turnout and they charged a 100Rs per person entry fee for the day long event as well when they supposedly didn't charge anything before today. I didn't mind it at all. In fact I strongly believe that such sporting events should be marketed more effectively in India to get more people out to such events and organizers should actually charge money for it thereby contributing back to coffers of the sport associations which in turn would (hopefully) get used into promotion of the game (the whole cycle of better facilities, better pay, better careers, better recognition, better crowds, better money, better facilities and so on)
First Game
The match started around 3:30. Saina was greeted with a loud applause which remained the feature through out the game. The first game didn't start well as the opponent had an early lead of 6-1 but Saina fought back well and eventually won the first game 21-12. Overall Saina was making a lot of judgment errors in leaving shuttles that would more often than not fall within than outside the court. Saina had a pretty aggressive game and this coupled with lot of errors that Julia made, paved way for a comfortable win. That is when I had hopes of an easy victory and an early finish. I had already imagined capturing the video of the final match point that I would eventually post in this blog but I guess fate had something else in mind. The fact that my camera's battery died after first game was a diving wink that I failed to read (at that time). Anyways, back to the game …
Second Game
The Malaysian player changed her strategy visibly. She stopped going for smashes and instead kept on rallying; feeding and forcing Saina to attempt smashes. This strategy worked for her since Saina kept on making mistakes and the second game went 13-21 in Julia's favor.
Final Game
This was definitely the best game of the three. Both players fought hard, were engaged in some really good rallies and were also visibly tired. Then suddenly at 14-14 Julia started hitting winners and raced to a 19-14 lead. The match seemed to be over but Saina fought back, bringing to fore her aggressive shots. Score was at 19-18 and after a decent rally Saina made a backhand cross-court winner that landed just out of side gallery. It was one of those moments when time really slows down and you could really see in slow motion that the shuttle is going towards the line and your heart starts sinking that it might just drop out and it eventually does! That was such a heart break and possibly the turning point. Julia won 21-19 winning the match in the process. She did acknowledge the crowd even though very few, if any, were supporting her (which is I thought was great of her!)
Post Match Expert Analysis
Look I am not even a gully level Badminton player but since every idiot has a right to express his/her opinion on their blog, I am compelled to write mine :)
1. Saina played best when she was aggressive.
2. Her half smashes, smashes on to opponent's body and drop returns of the service were really great!
3. Saina's lack of accuracy was her weakness. At least it was today. She could convert only half of her shots. And with each unforced error her confidence in her shots decreased.
4. Saina didn't change her game even when it was clear that her opponent had.
5. Her full smashes didn't have the killer sting. They were powerful yes but more often than not Julia was able to pick them up!
The End Of A Beginning
Both Nitu and I were feeling sad for Saina losing the game in front of the home crowd. These are early days for Saina's career and I do believe that the future of women's badminton in India is in good hands. I really hope that one day I'll be there to cheer for Saina in a finals event and actually capturing that winning moment and posting it here!
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