The 19-year-old exhibited a wide gamut of strokes and great temperament in the 10-21, 20-22 defeat to P.V. Sindhu.
Assam’s Ashmita Chaliha gave ample evidence of her immense potential after resiliently bowing out of the women’s singles semifinal clash against Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu at the Senior Badminton Nationals on Friday.
The 19-year-old, who managed to win two international titles at the Dubai Open followed by a TATA Open in 2018, exhibited a wide gamut of strokes and showed great resilience as she went down fighting against Sindhu in a 10-21, 20-22 loss.
It felt as though the immense contest had got the better of her as she failed to get her strokes right. The Guwahati-based shuttler lost the first set by a mere 10-22.
“I was nervous initially & hit out a lot and could not match her pace in the 1st game,” Ashmita informed later.
Nonetheless, with the local crowd cheering her, Chaliha displayed her prowess in the second game. Having been 8-13 down, the Assamese prodigy not only levelled the proceedings but also grabbed a 19-16 lead at moment in the game. That point conjured hopes of a decider.
Next badminton star #ashmitaChaliha well played
— Ashwin kumar (@MightyAshwin) February 15, 2019
However, Olympic silver medalist Sindhu eventually clawed back into the contest 19-19 before grabbing the match point at 20-19.
“I managed to give her a fight in the 2nd game. I was constantly talking with myself & those weren’t funny chats and reminding myself of my errors,” Chaliha said.
Also Read | Badminton Nationals: Saina Nehwal Refuses to Play at Uneven Surface
She last played against Sindhu at an Inter-State Team Championship match in Vijayawada back in 2015.
Ashmita first came to everyone’s notice when she found a place in the Asian Games squad. That was a resultant of her semifinal finish in the Bengaluru All-India event before winning in Hyderabad.
The arrival of Indonesian coach Edwin Iriawan at the Assam Badminton Academy last year further augmented her progress.
“Ever since Indonesian coach Edwin Iriawan came here, he has been helping me to work on my stamina & stroke,” the shuttler informed.
Ashmita now will head to play two international tournaments in April in Finland and Netherlands.
For more updates on Badminton, stay tuned to KreedOn, the voice of Indian sports.
