Mastering Opponent Drop Shots: Tennis Strategy

Nguyen Thuy Linh suffered a disappointing defeat after a comeback attempt.

On the afternoon of December 11, Vietnamese badminton fans saw a disappointing result as the country’s women’s number one, Nguyen Thuy Linh (world number 22), lost 1-2 (21/16, 20/22, 14/21) to Indonesia’s Ni Kadek Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi (world number 82).

Despite being considered the favorite and showing her resilience by making an impressive comeback to win the first set, Thùy Linh continued to struggle in the following sets. This result led to the veteran Vietnamese player’s early elimination in women’s singles badminton at the 33rd SEA Games.

The secret of victory is overcoming fear.

Thùy Linh’s opponent, Ni Kadek Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi, is a young talent of only 19 years old. This is her first participation in the SEA Games. Therefore, it is considered a big surprise that she defeated such a strong opponent as Thùy Linh.

After the match, the young Indonesian player shared her secret to victory and her mindset for the match against her experienced opponent, Nguyen Thuy Linh. Pratiwi said: “I would like to thank my parents, coach, support team and fans who have always supported me. This is my debut at the SEA Games and it is also the first time I am playing against Thuy Linh.”

Revealing her mental state, Pratiwi admitted, “Actually, I went into this competition with a lot of stress because I really wanted to win. I wanted to prove that I could do it. Even though this was my first participation in the SEA Games, I proved that I can win and go even further.”

Regarding the fact that she let her opponent score 9 points in a row and lose the first set, Pratiwi said: “In the first set, my strategy was correct. But because I was ahead, I wanted to attack continuously. I was afraid that if I let the rally go on too long with too many high shots, my opponent would lose points. Thùy Linh’s crosscourt shots from the baseline were very dangerous and accurate.”

According to the 19-year-old Indonesian prodigy, the turning point that led to victory came through the coach’s tactical adjustments after the first set: “It was the coach who reminded me and advised me before starting the second set. The coach encouraged me and said, ‘It will be fine, just extend the rallies, you are strong, don’t be afraid.’ And it turned out that when I extended the rallies in sets 2 and 3, I was also able to anticipate Thuy Linh’s drop shots. What I was afraid of wasn’t actually that difficult, it was just my mindset.”

With this victory, Ni Kadek Dhinda Amartya Pratiwi proved her talent and secured a place in the quarter-finals of the women’s singles badminton at the 33rd SEA Games.