The Chinese ‘rural’ city of Ningbo has held some eye-popping surprises for a large number of Indian students last few years (more on that later). But the city’s personal interest in the progress of badminton’s mixed doubles pairing of Tanisha Crasto and Dhruv Kapila peaked when they remained the only Indian shuttlers in the Badminton Asia Championships draw on Friday. Ningbo city social media handles noted their impressive buzz in a close first set with fiery exchanges.
A 22-20, 21-13 loss to World No 6 Tse Yong Suet and Tang Chun Man however ended their promising foray even as the 18th ranked Indians are still looking for that big Top 10 scalp that will bring them due attention. The Ningbo experience offers insights into where the two fell short.
It was only the third match of the tournament, and winning titles will need them to string together five wins, with the intensity increasing as the week progresses. Against the considerably higher ranked opponents, the Indians started well leading 8-0, but the HK pair had caught up at 10-10. From trailing 10-12 to regaining lead at 17-16, the Indians did well to threaten an upset and stayed in the fray at 19-18.
However the Indians couldn’t close out at the crunch of 20-19. Experience and a far more composed temperament saw HK take the opener at 22-20.
In the second, Tanisha and Dhruv were once more up 8-5. However it was the HK pair’s turn to wrack up 8 points in a row, as they went on a point binge to lead 17-9. The end was nigh for the Indians, as an opportunity was lost to nick a Top 10 scalp.
Not being able to close out has been an Indian malady across singles and doubles, and the general levels of low confidence in converting tiny margins aren’t really helping anyone.
Maybe, they needed inspiration from Ningbo’s most famous recent shuttler, mens doubles Olympics silver medallist Wang Chang, who patiently built his famous partnership with Liang Weikeng.
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Ningbo happens to be a popular university graduation centre for several Indian students, known for the weekly gong that goes out in the countryside when 55-year-old Zhong Yunyan, (a.k.a Chinese mom) packs home made lunches for the international students. The Chinese city known for its manufacture on a large scale of Russian designed home appliances, is a melting pot with many Indian students pursuing niche education along campuses lined with cherry blossoms.
For Dhruv-Tanisha, it was a lesson of a different genre – the challenge of closing out sets against Top Tenners.
