Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
India’s campaign at the China Masters, a major tune-up event ahead of the Asian Games, began on a disappointing note. Unnati Hooda lost to South Korea’s Kim Ga Eun in straight games in the women’s singles opening round. Earlier in the day, the men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Hariharan Amsakarunan withdrew from their first-round match against China’s Chen Bo Yang and Liu Yi while trailing 8-11 in the opening game.
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Meanwhile, former World No. 1 Shi Yuqi suffered his second successive first-round exit, this time losing to Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in the opening round of the Super 750 event in Shenzhen. The local favourite was knocked out in the opening round of the BWF World Championships last week by India’s Ayush Shetty.
Earlier in the day, World No. 1 An Se Young, who won the World Championships title in Delhi last week, began her China Masters campaign in emphatic fashion, defeating China’s Lin Hsiang, ranked No. 17, 21-11, 21-13 in the opening round.
ORDINARY SHOW FROM UNNATI
It was a concerning result for Unnati, ranked No. 31 in the women’s singles, as she went down 10-21, 18-21 in just 37 minutes on Court 1. Having been picked as the second women’s singles player alongside PV Sindhu in India’s Asian Games squad, Unnati was looking to build momentum in China. She had reached the second round at the World Championships, where she came close to knocking out experienced Canadian Michelle Li in New Delhi.
Having been picked ahead of the likes of Tanvi Sharma and Devika Shaig for the second singles spot alongside Sindhu, Unnati might have benefited from a deep run at the China Masters. However, she was far from her best against the higher-ranked Kim of South Korea.
Unnati struggled to find momentum from the far end of the court in the opening game as her opponent, ranked No. 12 in the world, raced to an 11-3 lead. A lack of decisiveness in Unnati’s game was evident as she struggled to keep pace with Kim, who never allowed her lead to slip.
In the second game, Unnati tried to be more proactive, and playing from the near end did help her. Her lifts pushed Kim into the backcourt more often than they had in the opening game, allowing Unnati to find winners. The teenager also looked more assured at the net in the second game.
However, after drawing level at 15-15, the 18-year-old allowed the momentum to slip away, with Kim going on to complete a straight-games victory.
MORE INDIAN ACTION ON DAY 2
Tanvi Sharma, who rose to a career-high World No. 13, will begin her campaign against Denmark’s Amalie Schulz, ranked No. 40, while Devika Shaig, ranked No. 33, will face Bulgaria’s Kaloyana Nalbantova on Wednesday.
On Wednesday, India’s men’s singles shuttlers Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth will begin their campaigns. Lakshya will take on in-form Canada’s Victor Lai, while Srikanth will face Chinese Taipei’s Chi Yu Jen.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
