India Open: Past returns to haunt PV Sindhu

Vinayak Padmadeo

New Delhi, January 17

Supanida Katethong slumped on her knees after a return from PV Sindhu went out of the tramline. She had just caused the biggest upset on the opening day of the Yonex Sunrise India Open, silencing the home crowd that had given a rusty Sindhu enough motivation to mount a comeback.

Everyone knows that Sindhu is an aggressive player so I had told her to keep changing it and it worked so we are happy. Kim Ji Hyun, Supanida Katethong’s Coach

Sindhu’s defeat, 14-21 20-22, may seem a close one, especially in the second game, but the Indian was miles behind her Thai opponent, who kept hurting her with drop shots followed by down-the-line smashes.

The first few points of the Round of 32 match showed that former world champion Sindhu was struggling to cover the court, and Supanida raced to a 12-4 lead in only eight minutes.

Interestingly, Sindhu lost to Supanida 14-21 21-13 10-21 in the semifinals here last year. This time, though, the Thai star had additional help as Kim Ji Hyun, who had coached Sindhu through her rise as world champion in 2019, had prepared a watertight strategy to get one over her former trainee.

Hurt by the loss, Sindhu refused to share her thoughts about the match with the media.

Kim, who had ended her coaching stint in India suddenly to help her ailing husband in 2019, guided Supanida well. “My coach told me to concentrate on net play more,” a victorious Supanida said.

Kim did not divulge much but said she had a strategy to outwit Sindhu. “Everyone knows that Sindhu is an aggressive player so I had told her to keep changing it and it worked so we are happy,” Kim explained. “This win will give Supanida a lot of confidence. She always goes out in the first or second round… Hopefully this win will make her realise how to keep winning.”

While Sindhu bit the dust, Saina Nehwal, who is on the last leg of her professional career, fended off Denmark’s Mia Blichfeldt 21-17 12-21 21-19 in a tense encounter that was interrupted by a power cut right at the end in the deciding set.

“I was a little irritated because if the power cut was for a longer period, the flow of points may get affected. I thought the shuttle went out and I was surprised to know that she (Mia) was contesting the point as she did not see it,” Saina said of the incident.

Lakshay beats Prannoy

In the day’s another marquee match, Lakshay Sen comfortably beat compatriot HS Prannoy 21-14 21-15. Sen did not allow Prannoy to settle and kept finding the points through overhead and down-the-line smashes.

This was the first time in three matches that the world No. 9 was able to beat Prannoy. He now leads 4-3 in head-to-head contests. “Winning the first set gave me the momentum and it also worked in my favour as I had decided to not allow him to play his game. Happy for the win and I hope to do well in my next match against Rasmus Gemke,” he said.

Other Indians in fray

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty bt Christopher Grimley & Matthew Grimley 21-13 21-15; Krishna Prasad & Vishnuvardhan Goud bt Ruben Jille & T Van der Lecq 21-11 23-25 21-9; Shruti Mishra & Sikki Reddy lost to Linda Efler & Isabel Lohau 17-21 19-21; Treesa Jolly & Gayatri Gopichand bt Margot Lambert & Anne Tran 22-20 17-21 21-18