Young shuttlers fail to make the draw
NEWDELHI: India’s upcoming shuttlers, including former junior world number one Aditya Joshi, crashed out of the qualifying round of the Indian Open World Super Series that got underway here at the Siri Fort Complex.
Aditya, 20, was fancied to enter the main round, but he failed to overcome Japanese Nishimoto Kenta, losing 21-14, 21-11 to bow out of the tournament. His elder brother Pratul Joshi, 22, also bowed out, losing to Kazumasa Sakai of Japan 21-18, 21-5.
Though Pratul challenged his rival in the first game, he wasn’t innovative enough to tackle the Japanese who powered to a 5-1 lead in the second. The Indian player could win points only when the Japanese made errors. Otherwise, he lacked the court craft to outplay his nippy rival.
On the eve of the tournament, chief national coach Pullela Gopichand had said that some of the juniors could make an impression.
Like the Joshi brothers, 2015 junior world champion Siril Verma too failed to find rhythm. Siril, who is among the core group of players in the junior national camp, lost to Korea’s Jeon Hyeok Jin. The Korean shuttler, the world university champion in 2015, won 21-14, 21-11 to move into the main round.
Siril admitted he wasn’t prepared for the big league. “It’s mentally and physically very challenging.
“Overall fitness has to be very good, otherwise chances of making an impression are negligible in a competition like Super Series,’’ he said.
Siril, who has been training at the Gopichand academy in Hyderabad, said he needed to focus on his overall development. “It’s not just a question of excellent fitness but I need to work hard on improving skills,’’ he added.
In the women’s qualifying round, four Indian shuttlers moved to the main round albeit beating compatriots in the qualifiers.