- By Manik Sharma
- Fri, 29 Sep 2023 02:27 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
India women's badminton team faced a crushing quarter-final defeat against Thailand at the Asian Games 2023. The Team in Blue lost 0-3 in the knock-out tie.
In the initial contest, PV Sindhu was defeated by Pornpawee Chochuwong. Subsequently, in the second and third matches, the Indian duo of Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, as well as Ashmita Chaliha, faced defeat.
Sindhu, currently ranked 15th in the world, had a promising start, taking an early lead. However, World no. 12 Chochuwongmade a remarkable comeback, winning the next two games. The final score was 14-21, 21-15, 21-14 in favour of Chochuwong.
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Sindhu reflected on her performance after the match and said the unforced errors cost her the match.
"I was in control in the first game, and in the second game, it was 4-4, and then suddenly I gave her the lead, and by the time I recovered, it was too late," Indian Express quoted Sindhu as saying.
“I made a lot of unforced errors. There were long rallies where I was catching up but it was not enough,” Sindhu added.
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Sindhu also emphasised the importance of her new coach, Muhammad Hafiz Hashim, in improving her game. She noted that her association with Coach Hashim was still in its early stages but was showing promise after two months of working together.
“When you have a coach, he needs to understand the body and you need to have that bonding where you understand each other.” Her reliance on a good coach though remains all important. “Because he’s sitting outside (the court) he knows much more about what mistakes I’m making and an opponent’s weaknesses. So it’s important to have that understanding between a coach and an athlete,” she said.
The Indian women's team faced a formidable Thai squad that included former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, Chochuwong, and world no. 17 Supanida Katethong. With such strong opponents, it was always going to be a challenging task for India.
India's last women's team medal at the Asian Games came in the 2014 edition at Incheon, where Sindhu and Ashwini Ponnappa played key roles.
The men's team led by HS Prannoy will be seeking to secure India's first badminton medal in the 19th edition of Asian Games as they face Nepal in the quarter-finals later in the day.
