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Indian Express
23-07-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
PV Sindhu vs Unnati Hooda at China Open, Head-to-Head, timing and more: In a generational clash, can the youngster pull off an upset?
After overcoming one of the best young players in the world in 18-year-old Tomoka Miyazaki, PV Sindhu next faces one of the rising talent in Indian badminton, the 17-year-old Unnati Hooda at China Open in the round of 16 on Thursday. Sindhu, once world No 2, has moved down the rankings in recent times and is placed No 15 in the world now. Meanwhile, Unnati has steadily climbed the ladder and is India's No 3 now, ranked No 35 in the world. Unnati has had a decent year on the tour, finding her feet while competing at the senior level, as she reached the semifinals at Taipei Open, where she incidentally lost against Miyazaki, despite holding a decent lead in the opening game. She had also reached the quarterfinal at German Open, where former junior world champion Riko Gunji defeated her in a marathon. In Lucknow last year at the Syed Modi Super 300, Unnati didn't know who she would be meeting in the semifinal when she was speaking to reporters after her quarterfinal win against USA's Ishika Jaiswal. But she had a fair idea as PV Sindhu was leading in her match. Unnati was excited about the prospect of the first meeting against the legendary figure of Indian badminton. 'I guess it will be Sindhu di, and it will be my first ever meeting against her,' the 17-year-old from Rohtak beamed. 'I am really excited. I have been in the Uber Cup team with her. She has achieved so much in her career, she is an idol for every young Indian shuttler.' On the international circuit, Sindhu and Unnati have played just once: at Syed Modi Super 300 in Lucknow last year. Despite offering some brief glimpses of her talent, Unnati just couldn't land any sustained punches on Sindhu who won 21-12 21-9 in just 36 minutes. 'She was quite attacking,' Unnati recalled about that match. 'You got to have a very good defense to pick her smashes. But there is a chance. There are areas. I need to be strategically at my best.' Ashwini Ponnappa, India's doubles legend, was commentating during that match and felt that Unnati would have been better off not going for the lines repeatedly and instead of pushing too hard for winners, could try to keep the shuttle in play. In what has been very drifty conditions so far in Changzhou, that could well be the key for the youngster: to control the errors. 'I try to keep it same whether I'm playing No 1 or No 2. Stick to the plan. I'm not taking pressure to be the next Sindhu. It's my own distinct journey. I definitely need to achieve what they did, but I'm aware it will be a difficult journey. But uniquely mine,' Unnati Hooda had said in a recent interview to The Indian Express The match is estimated to begin at 1.10 pm IST and will be played as the ninth match on Court 2. With only 8 matches on Court 2 scheduled for official broadcast, this match will be streamed live on BWF TV's YouTube channel.
Indian Express
15-05-2025
- Sport
- Indian Express
Thailand Open badminton: Five round-of-16 matches, five defeats in straight games as India's campaign ends
Out of the five matches featuring Indian shuttlers in the round of 16 stage at the Thailand Open Super 500 badminton tournament in Bangkok on Thursday, four were against higher-ranked, seeded opponents, so any expectations of a positive result from those were futile. Only Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, currently India's solitary presence in the world's top 10 of the BWF rankings across all five disciplines, were up against a winnable lower-ranked opponent. But as things turned out, they too fell short as India's poor run of results on the BWF World Tour continued in 2025. And to top it all off, all five matches ended in straight-game defeats. India's best bet of a deeper run in Bangkok always appeared to rest on Treesa-Gayatri – especially after frustrating defeats for Lakshya Sen and Priyanshu Rajawat in the opening round of men's singles – but their comeback to the tour after an injury layoff was cut short as well. They went down 20-22, 14-21 to Japan's Rui Hirokami and Sayaka Hobara. While they have been India's most consistent shuttlers in the recent past, the sight of Gayatri playing with a huge strapping to support her back – she had used something similar earlier as well, including the Syed Modi Super 300 in Lucknow that they won last year – is another sign that they are not yet operating at 100% of their capacity. The opener was a tight affair, the only game that actually went the distance on the day, but after saving a game point at 19-20, the Indians couldn't create an opening of their own. The match had plenty of long rallies as one would expect from women's doubles, but Treesa-Gayatri were hampered by the fact that they couldn't enforce winners to get out of defensive positions. In women's singles, Unnati Hooda, Malvika Bansod and Aakarshi Kashyap were all up against local favourites, with Thailand boasting of four seeds among the eight. Top seed and world No 6 Pornpawee Chochuwong faced some resistance from 17-year-old Unnati, who recovered after a nightmare start to be down 5-15. The Indian teenager, who was enjoying a good run of results after her semifinal run at the Taipei Open Super 300 last week and a thrilling three-game in the opening round here, bounced back to win nine out of the next 12 points to make it 14-18 but Chochuwong held on to the lead to take Game 1. Unnati didn't let Chochuwong get away too far in the second toom, trailing 8-11 at the interval but the Thai shuttler won 21-14, 21-11 in 39 minutes. India's No 2 Malvika Bansod, now up to No 23 in the world, would have hoped for a better showing against former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, who is now on the other side of 30 and not the force she once was. But it was the veteran who hit the ground running to open up a 13-2 lead in the opening game and from that point on it looked like a hurdle that Malvika wouldn't cross, as she lost 16-21, 12-21 in 44 minutes. The most one-sided defeat was Aakarshi Kashyap's who was outplayed by maverick leftie Supanida Katethong in 9-21, 14-21 thrashing that lasted just 34 minutes. In men's singles, Tharun Mannepalli went down against second-seeded Dane Anders Antonsen, losing 14-21, 16-21 in 42 minutes.
