Mohita runs out of luck
Mohita Sahdev didnt even expect to be playing at the Siri Fort complex this week.
Mohita Sahdev didn’t even expect to be playing at the Siri Fort complex this week. The Delhi girl was merely a reserve player for the Indian Open Super Series qualifiers before her luck changed twice over. First Sahdev got a chance to go through the qualifying rounds after a series of last-minute pullouts. Then a day before her match,her higher-ranked Malaysian opponent Rena Wang gave Mohita a walkover. And suddenly,she had the relatively easier task of beating fellow Indian Neha Pandit for her Super Series debut. “It was lucky run I guess,” she said. “But I think I deserve a bit of luck now,it clearly wasn’t there for me last year. I got injured then recovered and then got injured again,”the 24-year-old added.
But Mohita wasn’t third-time lucky and went down fighting to Pandit in three games 21-17 22-24 21-14 on Tuesday. Despite the disappointment of the defeat,Mohita says she is happy with her performance. “I haven’t played that many times against her. I faced her once as a junior and then once again in 2010. The first time it was a straight games loss but the second time around I got a lot closer and took it to three games. This time as well I took the match to three games. I guess its only a matter of time before I beat her,”she says.
Interestingly,the two play for the same employers- Airport Authority of India —- but Mohita says it doesn’t provide much of an advantage in terms of knowing her style of play. “It doesn’t really make much difference because for nearly the entire year we play in different cities. Neha plays in Pune while I train in Delhi. When we do have an institutional camp,its only for a couple of days a year,” she says.
The last year there was even less time for the two to come across each other due to the spate of injuries Mohita struggled with. “I played the National Games in February but during the tournament I injured my knee and also pulled my hamstring. I had just recovered from that when I suffered a fall and aggravated the condition. Later in the year,I pulled a muscle in my shoulder and that again cost me a few tournaments. I only hope that 2012 will be a bit more favourable for me,” she says.
Meanwhile,National Games champion Arundhati Pantawane joined Neha Pandit in the main draw. The Maharashtra girl saw off Sabrina Jaquet of Switzerland 19-21 21-13 21-18 to set up a clash against fourth seed Chinese Yanjiao Jiang in the main draw on Wednesday.
Praneeth,Sameer ousted
However,it turned out to be a disappointing day in the men’s section as both B Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma wasted a match point to bow out of the qualifiers. Praneeth,who had beaten Srikanth K 21-12 21-18 in the first qualifying round,suffered a 21-19 19-21 21-23 loss to Suppanyu Avihingsanon of Thailand. The Indian squandered it all as the Thai shuttler clinched the issue with a smash in the end. Sameer suffered a 21-17 23-25 14-21 defeat to Vladimir Ivanov of Russia. He had beaten Russian Ivan Sozonov 21-16 21-9 in the first round.
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