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Journalism of Courage
The last Indian men’s singles player standing at the India Open Super 750, Kiran George produced a stirring fightback against French rising star Alex Lanier to enter the quarterfinals. The Indian, ranked world No 38, overcame French No 1 and world No 17 in 46 minutes by a scoreline of 22-20 21-13.
The incredible turnaround happened at 14-20 in the first game, when Kiran faced 8 game points. But by a combination of his own patience, and the lack of it from his opponent, Kiran went on a run of 8 straight points to script a stunning comeback in Game 1.
“I was just taking at one point at a time, not thinking about the lead, whether I’m trailing 15-20. I was just playing one point at a time. I think that helped me to secure the result,” Kiran said later. “Fortune also favored me. And I was just being patient, not giving away easy points. I think that’s what changed.”
In the first round it was a different sort of win, as he saved three match points to wrap up the dramatic tie 21-19, 14-21, 27-25 against Yushi Tanaka in an hour and 11 minutes at the India Open Super 750 on Tuesday. That makes it back-to-back wins against higher-ranked players for Kiran this week at the IG Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
“Last year, I also had three or four tournaments where I was leading. I had match points at big events, two Super 1000s too,” Kiran told the media after his first-round win. “I was leading match points in the third set and gave away those matches. I’ve been working on it, so that’s why I think I could do it. In practice, we have been simulating such situations. I think I’m there at a good level; I just need to be a little more consistent.” But this one was a different sort of grind, as he beat Lanier from a point where he looked like he was struggling for rhythm and ways to penetrate the Frenchman’s all-round game.
Kiran next takes on Weng Hong Yang of China on Friday.
