Incheon: The Indian women’s badminton team lived up to their potential to reach the semi-final at the Asian Games at the Gyeyang Gymnasium here Saturday.
The shuttlers first beat Macau 3-0 in the Round of 16 and then came up with a brilliant performance to oust a strong Thailand 3-2 in the quarter-finals. Reaching the last four, where they will take on South Korea Sunday, assured India of at least a bronze, their first in the discipline since 1986.
However, it was the end of the road for the men’s team who lost their opening round match to hosts South Korea.
In the women’s team quarter-final, India’s best bet Saina Nehwal gave her team a good start by defeating former World Champion Ratchanok Intanon 21-15, 17-21, 21-18 in one hour and seven minutes. P.V. Sindhu followed it up with a 21-15, 21-13 victory over Porntip Buranaprasertsuk to give India a 2-0 lead.
However, the Thai girls came back well in the next two matches to level the contest at 2-all. First, P.C. Thulasi went down to Busanan Ongbamrungphan 12-21, 14-21 while was followed by Pradnya Gadre-N. Siki Reddy’s doubles loss to Porntip and Kunchala Voravichitchaikul 17-21, 21-18, 16-21.
However, doubles specialist Ashwini Ponnappa combined well with Sindhu to clinch the all-important second doubles 21-16, 21-17 in 38 minutes to defeat Sapsiree Taerattanachai and Saralee Thoungthongkam to propel India into the last four.
Earlier in the pre-quarters, Olympic bronze medallist Saina set the ball rolling for her team as she thrashed Wong Kit Leng 21-6, 21-4. The World No.7 took 31 minutes to win the match over an inexperienced Leng.
Next up, double World Championship bronze medallist Sindhu completely dominated U. Teng Lok 21-8, 21-9 to wrap up her match in 36 minutes.
The Indian men’s hockey team, meanwhile, aim to start their Games campaign on a winning note when they take on Sri Lanka in their first pool match at the Soenhak Hockey Stadium here Sunday.
In the Asiad, the neighbours last faced each other in 1978 Bangkok. Exposure to back-to-back major tournaments gives India the edge with the amount of experience they have in their side. But the Sardar Singh-led team is not taking any team lightly.
With vice-captain and goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh having his faith on forward S.V. Sunil being their trump card for keeping the pressure on the opponents defence, Sunil on the other hand feels that Sreejesh will ensure that he keeps the opponents forwards at bay while the forwards are fighting it out at the other end.
Youngster Manpreet Singh is looking at giving his support to Sardar in the midfield while the skipper will want to continue his seamless support to both the defence as well as the forwards.
“We are fully prepared for the tournament and really excited to take on the challenges of the new format. Our plan is to attack and put the pressure on Sri Lanka from the outset. This will help us understand their weaknesses and make us take advantage and score,” said Sardar.
Chief coach Terry Walsh said that the team’s aim will be to find out the flaws in the opponent’s defence.
“The first game of any tournament comes with expectations and a desire to begin the competition well. Our team has been preparing solidly in Incheon with the pitch, the facilities of the village and the weather conditions now very familiar,” said Walsh.
