5 min readFeb 17, 2024 08:51 AM IST
First published on: Feb 17, 2024 at 12:06 AM IST
PV Sindhu has been called upon to play the second doubles rubber partnering Ashwini Ponnappa as the Indian women’s team at the Badminton Asia Team Championships shuffles its personnel to field the strongest possible challenge looking for a win against better-ranked Japan.
On Friday, India ensured its first-ever medal in the women’s event of the event by defeating Hong Kong 3-0 thanks to wins for Sindhu, Ashmita Chaliha and Ashwini-Tanisha Crasto. They ensured Uber Cup Finals qualification in the process.
Gunning for a bold finals spot, the Indians will juggle their top names and that means Sindhu will need to be ready for the fourth match of the tie – the second doubles.
The decision, while also largely tactical, was taken after a niggle to India’s top doubles shuttler. “Tanisha Crasto is unfortunately injured and not playing. The call to shuffle the doubles teams was taken by team management and Sindhu who will play doubles was on board the decision,” said Badminton Association of India, when contacted.
Sindhu and Saina Nehwal have both been fielded in doubles, even together, earlier in Uber Cups and team events, to take the best shot at earning 3 points.
Sindhu, who has won both her matches against China and Hong Kong, is slated to meet Japan’s Aya Ohori for the first match. The Indian star has beaten the World No 14 southpaw Ohori all 13 times they have played and will fancy her chances of putting India 1-0 up.
The order of play is first women’s singles (WS1), first doubles (WD1), WS2, WD2 and WS3, and world rankings determine who is first and second doubles combine. Ashwini-Tanisha at No 21 are India’s WD1, but Treesa-Gayatri take that spot with Ashwini and Sindhu unranked.
Japan’s first doubles is World No 6 Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida according to the team sheet on tournamentsoftware.com as of 10 pm on Friday. While Ashwini has never faced this pairing alongside Tanisha, Treesa-Gayatri have nicked a set in the past, and will give it a good go on Saturday. The young Indians lost both their prior matches, but will have to step up, face the storm and try to nick a point.
Ashwini-Tanisha do have a win against Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto in their 1-0 head-to-head, but the only way Ashwini can have a go at the second doubles vs the World No 11s is if she’s paired with Sindhu. Given Sindhu plays the first singles, she will be required to be given two matches interval before her doubles, thus ensuring, they play the fourth rubber, if necessary.
Before that, Ashmita Chaliha, who played a solid match against Hong Kong, becomes a crucial cog, lined up at second singles. She has the almighty task of taking down former world champion, Nozomi Okuhara, currently ranked No 20.
National champion Anmol Kharb, if called upon at a possible 2-2 juncture, will face Natsuki Nidaira, ranked world No 29.
Apart from the Sindhu singles match, the other faceoffs of the semis tie are strongly leaning towards a Japan win. But this Indian team managed a 3-2 win over China in their pool tie. Ensuring their first medal at the event, the Indian women might as well go for broke, and align in the best likely combinations. The squad has national champions Priya-Shruti in their ranks, but reckons the scratch pair of Ashwini-Sindhu can offer a better chance at making a fist of this tie instead of merely giving youngsters exposure.
It’s a bold decision to call upon talismanic Sindhu to play doubles for a team that upset China and bettered previous outfits who had never gone past the quarters. But both her and seasoned Ashwini can be relied upon to give it their all in the last 4 and shepherd this young, unheralded unit for a shy at the Japanese.
Later in the day, the Indian men’s team disappointed when they went down to Japan 3-2 in their quarters, though Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as well as Lakshya Sen nicked a couple of points from the tie.
PV Sindhu lost to Japan's 17-year-old Tomoka Miyazaki at the Swiss Open in Basel. (File) 
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