© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Tags:
Journalism of Courage
During Loh Kean Yew’s consistently breathtaking performances in Huelva at the 2021 World Championships, former Denmark player and recently-appointed coach HK Vittinghus remarked on Twitter (now X): “In badminton we now have three levels of how fast you can be: Fast, (Anthony) Ginting fast, Loh Kean Yew fast!” That’s how the Singaporean was moving on court that week in Spain when he went on to famously win the gold medal, his best ever performance at the event.
That week, Lakshya too had a memorable run, registering his best run at the Worlds to date, winning bronze. The Indian may have slipped down the world rankings, but when he is at his best, he is no slouch on the badminton court either. Like Loh, Lakshya also thrives on remarkable retrieval skills, showcasing the explosive speed needed to recover after defending. Both are brilliant at the net and possess a potent jump smash. Their games match up rather evenly, and while both have had less-than-ideal international scenes, at time during the second game of their quarterfinal clash at the Kumamoto Japan Masters Super 500 on Friday, Lakshya and Loh showed why they are two of the more entertaining men’s singles shuttlers on tour. In the end, it was Lakshya who prevailed in straight games 21-13 21-17 in 40 minutes to reach the semifinals.
The first game, after an even start, was largely dominated by Lakshya as he put together a run of six straight points. In fact, it was a run of 9 out of 10 points that saw him lead 18-9 from 9-8. Loh briefly threatened a late fightback but it was a mere formality that Lakshya would take the lead.
The second game is where sometimes the pace of both shuttlers came together for some fireworks. There was a 41-shot rally early in Game 2, at 1-1 that Loh won to lay down an early marker. But Lakshya threatened to make it one-sided once more as he went on a run of 8 straight points either side of the interval to go up 15-9.
The third seed from Singapore wasn’t quite done though. After playing largely decisive badminton – both in choosing when to attack with his jump smashes and when to attack the net – Lakshya had two moments of strange indecision at his deep backhand corner. The first time, he took the shuttle late and gifted Loh an easy point for 11-15. He’d repeat it again soon after, another late call, this time it was a complete airshot and the shuttle landed inside the corner, and Loh closed in at 13-16
But to his credit, Lakshya quickly recovered and won a much-needed flat exchange at 17-13 to halt the momentum. But Loh closed in once more after a wild Lakshya smash followed by a fine rally by the Singaporean. Lakshya played a great service return to get the serve back at 18-15 but Loh showed off that sensational recovery speed of his; after a diving forehand defensive block, he got back up quickly to rush the net and eventually won the point for 16-18. At 17-18, Loh well and truly had the second game finish line in sight.
Then came the rally of the match. With the chance to level things up, it was Loh’s turn to double-guess his line judgment. The first time, he got away with it and kept the rally going but couldn’t get lucky for the second time at the end of a marathon exchange – 42 shots, longest of the match. As he tamely netted the shuttle, he let out a big roar of frustration, unlike him on the court, and even coach Kim Ji Hyun couldn’t quite believe what she had seen from his ward. Lakshya had a lifeline, and he let out an audible “Yes!” after winning the next point to go 20-17 up and closed the match out with a booming jump smash.
In a season where he has blown hot and cold, Lakshya has turned a corner in the second half when he has remained largely fit, and this was another good sign.
