Ashmita Chaliha put up a valiant effort but the youthful and less experienced Indian women’s team faced a 0-3 defeat against the formidable Japanese team in the Uber Cup badminton tournament quarterfinals on April 2. Despite missing the big guns like PV Sindhu, India still reached the knockout stages with two wins over Canada and Singapore in the group matches. However, the 0-5 loss against China in the last league match was a reality check.
On April 2, both Chaliha and Isharani Baruah played well in their singles round against the reigning champions Japan. World number 53 Chaliha lost 10-21, 22-20, 15-21 to world no. 11 Aya Ohori in a 67-minute contest. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Isharani ranked 83, succumbed 15-21, 12-21 to the 2017 World Championships and former world no. 1 Nozomi Okuhara.
In between, national champions Priya Konjengbam and Shruti Misra encountered the world's number 4 pair, Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida and faced a tough match before losing 8-21, 9-21.
I made silly errors: Chaliha
Despite a rough start, Chaliha rallied back in the second game and kept up her attacking game on Ohori until 18-18. However, she couldn’t sustain the pressure and the match concluded in Ohori's favour after Chaliha failed to land a forehand smash, bringing the 67-minute battle to an end.
"The first game could have been better, the court conditions didn't suit me. I played her in Syed Modi but I wasn't good, so today I wanted to give my best. Third set I could have been better after the 11 points, I made silly errors," Chaliha said in the post-match presentation.
"In the second game, I managed to play on her backhand side. She is a lefty like me, so I got confused initially. With my attacks, I got more points. Overall, I am happy with the way I played. It was a great experience,” Chaliha added.
Notably, in the Uber Cup, India had reached the semifinals thrice in 1957, 2014 and 2016.
The defending champions Indian men’s team will face China in the quarterfinals of the Thomas Cup later in the day.
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