Kanpur’s paddler Abhishek qualifies for Youth Olympics

LUCKNOW: Kanpur’s Abhishek Yadav and Suthirtha Mukherjee joined the ranks of those who made the cut for 2014 Youth Olympics Games, to be held at Nanjing (China) in August. The ongoing Asian qualification championships at Bangkok offer four spots each and the two Indians have grabbed the first opportunities.

Following a brilliant performance by Suthirtha Mukherjee, who beat Malaysia’s An Qi Angeline Tang 4-0 (11-5, 11-4, 11-2, 11-9) in what was a one-sided affair, left-handed Abhishek Yadav defeated Singapore’s Yin Jing Yuan 4-3 (11-5, 11-8, 10-12, 11-9, 7-11, 7-11, 11-6) in a duel which lasted not only the full course but also close to 65 minutes.

With the two Indians making the grade, the qualifiers’ number has swelled to 16 each in both sections.

In all 32 players from each section qualify through various Road to Nanjing and Continental championships, states a release of the Table Tennis Federation of India.

Abhishek Yadav, who failed to even make it to the semifinals at the Goa RTN in the third week of last month, was in a different mood altogether here. Opening the game on a bright note, the left-hander attacked from both flanks catching the Singapore player off guard. Yin upped his ante in the second but Abhishek was too good to close him out.

However, in the third, Abishek struggled which held his rival to take his first game. Yet, Abhishek did well to come back in the next only to lose two successive games thereafter as the Sinpore boy pushed the Indian to the brink. Yadav, when pushed to the corner, was returning to his best form and thumped his opponent in a more befitting manner to book his Nanjing ticket.

“I missed few crucial points in the third which allowed my rival to come back. But he was very good in the fifth and sixth. I was determined to go all out in the decider and I must thank my coach Muralidhar Rao for encouraging to attack without bothering about anything,” said Yadav.

As for Suthitha, who lost in the semifinals at the Road to Nanjig series held at Goa in the third week of last month, was at her best on Sunday. Right from the start, the Indian was on an attacking mode and it paid rich dividends. After taking the first three games easily-she has great service variations and relentlessly attacked-Suthirtha slackened a bit in the fourth, providing her Malaysian opponent ample opportunities.

The Malaysian, who too failed to grab the opportunity at Goa last month, seemingly did well in the fourth in what seemed to be a nice come back. Even as Tang was doing well, midway through she made few unforced errors, which cost her game. Otherwise, she gave some anxious moments for Suthirtha but before things could go out of hands the Indian settled the issue beyond the Malaysian.

Giving full credit to her coach Muralidhar Rao, Suthirtha admitted that she did prepare well for the tournament, particularly after losing the chance at Goa. “During breaks and at time out in the fourth game, Rao Sir told me to keep my service and attacking variations going. They helped me a lot. I am happy I did not let him down. I very badly needed to win to qualify for the Games,” said Suthirtha.