There is something special about watching left-handers in sport, especially one where they wield rackets. Indian badminton doesn’t have too many of these lefties, and that’s why Ashmita Chaliha has always stood out. When she is in good touch, she is a delight to watch, as her leftie elegance combines well with a naturally attacking mindset. The jump smash is not a familiar sight in the women’s singles field, and Ashmita is one of those who has a flair for it.
But to go with all this aggressive brilliance, consistency has eluded the shuttler from Guwahati. The frustrations have outnumbered the opportunities she has had to make the most of her undoubted talent. Oftentimes, it’s been the inability to rein in the unforced errors but physical and mental toughness to last the distance on the gruelling badminton World Tour have been found wanting too.
On Thursday in Bangkok, the 24-year-old prevailed against Ester Nurumi Tri Wardoyo 21-14, 19-21, 21-13 in a 57-minute quarterfinal contest at the Thailand Masters, reaching the last four stage at a Super 300 event for the first time in her career. In the process, she also became the first Indian not named PV Sindhu or Saina Nehwal to reach the women’s singles semifinal of a World Tour event not held in India. It’s been a long time coming, but this is arguably Ashmita’s best run of results in an international event.
In the quarterfinal against the Indonesian teenager, who is a Junior Worlds bronze medaliist, Ashmita showed both sides of her game. In the opener, she trailed 10-14 after a fairly tight start. When it looked like Ester was pulling ahead, Ashmita pulled off a stunning run of 11 straight points to pocket Game 1. The world No 61 then had the finish line in sight to close this out in straight games as she led 19-15 but it was now Ester’s turn to go on a run as she won the next six points to force the decider. In those phases, the two extremes of Ashmita’s game were evident. She can delight just as she can frustrate even when seemingly in control.
To her credit, Ashmita quickly regrouped at the start of the decider to open up a massive lead and despite the world No 44 threatening a late fightback, managed to close the match out.
A few years back, when she played Tai Tzu Ying at the PBL in Chennai, she lost in straight games but as a 20-year-old up against one of the best ever, she showed the courage to go at the Taipei magician. Often she would try to beat Tzu Ying at her own game of deception and clever angles and didn’t hide on the court. For someone with such promise, big wins on the tour have been few and far between. But by beating Pai Yu Po and Ester, both ranked higher, in back-to-back three-game battles, she’s given a reminder of the skillset she has. Three International Challenge titles don’t do justice to her talent but she now has a massive chance to make that long-awaited breakthrough at the World Tour level.
In the semifinals, she will take on Supanida Katethong on Thailand, in what promises to be a clash of two aggressive lefties who possess a solid jump smash. The world No 17 will pose a stiff test for the Indian, but if Ashmita can channel her flair with some consistency, an elusive first World Tour final is not out of her reach.
Ashmita, however, is the last Indian standing after defeats for Mithun Manjunath in men’s singles and Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand in women’s doubles quarterfinals. Mithun lost to Mark Caljouw of Netherlands 19-21, 15-21 in 43 minutes, after being locked at 19-19 in the opening game.
It was a heartbreaking 12-21, 21-17, 21-23 defeat for sixth seeds Treesa and Gayatri against fourth seeds Febriana Dwipuji Kusuma and Amallia Cahaya Pratiwi of Indonesia. The Indians recovered from an ordinary opening game to dominate large parts of the remainder of the match but while they controlled most of the rallies, they paid the price for errors from their own rackets too. In the decider, Treesa and Gayatri did well to save two match points and then to have a chance of their own, but the Indonesians prevailed while the Indian youngsters were left frustrated by a missed opportunity in Bangkok.
2024-02-02 14:01:22
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