Meenakshi’s attitude impressive

Kellie Lucas must be given credit for putting up a determined fight against a decidedly betterplayer. Eventually Popat sealed the first game at 13-10 and then second at the cost of five points. By the end the Australian had slowed down a bit.

The 20-year-old BR Meenakshi, former junior National champion and No 63 in the World, was fielded in the second singles, ahead of Neelima Choudhary, who did not appear in good touch on the opening day against Singapore. Playing in her first Uber Cup, Meenakshi played freely, not appearing to be under any pressure against Jane Crabtree. The 1-0 lead taken through Popat’s win must also have been reassuring for Meenakshi. She has had a good domestic season and displayed a good, positive game.

Manjusha Kanwar struck the final blow for India, when she beat Laurie Blackburn conceding just give points in two games. The gave India the tie, but the last two doubles were played allright. Young Shruti Kurien, once again combined well with Manjusha. That should give her the much-needed confidence and good feel of the international competition.

With the overall standardof badminton on display in this competition being rather average, the crowds have been thin. This despite a lot of local interest. Hopefully things will get better when the main draw gets under way. That should attract better crowds, especially since India has a good chance of qualifying. And also the overall standard of play should go up dramatically. Further, India should be up against strong teams like South Korea, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong and Thailand. China’s presence in Thomas Cup and Indonesia in Uber Cup should also get crowds.Dinesh Khanna is a former Asian champion.