India, who began their campaign with an upset win over China, accounted for top seeds Japan in the semi-final and showed they were the superior outfit in the final with convincing wins by former world champion PV Sindhu, a hard fought triumph by All England semi-finalists Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand before national champion Anmol Kharab clinched the deciding rubber in style to take the team home.
Badminton Association of India (BAI) secretary Sanjay Mishra congratulated the team on their victory, saying, “It is a proud moment for all of us.” It also demonstrated the breadth of badminton skill in India, and we have no doubt that these players will bring home numerous more championships in the years to come.
In the first singles, Sindhu’s matchup with Supanida Katethong was classic. She took an aggressive stance against a player who had previously caused her problems, and the strategy worked.
Throughout the 39-minute match, she hardly appeared under pressure, winning 21-12, 21-12 to give India the lead.
Treesa and Gayatri then doubled the lead, winning a nail-biting doubles match 21-16, 18-21, 21-16 against the world’s No. 10 team of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai.
To win the first game, the Indians started with a well-defined game plan that involved pinning their opponents to the back court and attacking whenever possible. However, the Thai duo’s excellent defense allowed them to wriggle back into the game, which caused the Indians to commit some unusual mistakes.
To their credit, Gayatri and Treesa hung in when things weren’t really going their way and managed to turn around a 6-10 deficit in the decider to draw level at 14-14. They won five straight points from 15-15 to earn five match points. They converted the second to finish with an all-win record in the competition.
Ashmita Chaliha then could not find the same rhythm that saw her defeat former world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan on Saturday as she went down 11-21, 14-21 and the women’s doubles national champions Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Mishra lost to the Aimsaard sisters, Benyapa and Nuntakarn, to take the final into the deciding rubber.
Anmol had to win the game-winning point for the team once more, and the 17-year-old once again performed admirably. She trailed 4-6 in the first game as she adjusted to Pornpicha Choeikeewong’s strength, but once she took charge of the rallies, she was unstoppable.
In the end, she won 21-14, 21-9, igniting a wild celebration among the whole squad.
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