Few positives in India’s timid All England show

HYDERABAD: Fifteen Indian players had gone to Birmingham in search of a long elusive crown at one of the most respected badminton tournaments — the All England Championship. All of them will be back home soon, with no silverware to flaunt this time too.

PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy were the only ones who created ripples. Sindhu, who became the second Indian woman after Saina Nehwal to move past the quarterfinals, was the last one to fall as she lost a marathon semifinal to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi. Prannoy was humbled in the quarters by Huang Yuxiang. India’s top male shuttler Kidambi Srikanth was ousted in the pre-quarters. The third Indian man in the fray, B Sai Praneeth, was beaten by Son Wan Ho in the first round.

Speaking to Express from Birmingham, Prannoy said. “Overall, my performance was quite good. I had been troubled by a foot corn for weeks, and my first round opponent (Chou Tien Chen) is a very strong player. Honestly, I did not expect to even move past the first round.”

Praneeth came to the defence of Srikanth, although he lost to a lower-ranked opponent. “He was just unlucky. He was leading by a big margin in the third set, and then he lost it. There are a lot of things that go into producing a win. Sometimes, even if you play well, you can lose,” Praneeth said.

Veteran coach U Vimal Kumar was of the opinion that the men’s doubles team of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were the key takeaway for the Indian contingent. “They were unlucky to run into a very strong pair of Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen in the second round (lost 16-21, 21-16, 21-23). These two boys have reached a level where they can beat anyone,” Kumar said.

The former coach of Saina (who crashed out in the first round against eventual champion Tai Tzu-ying) was not impressed by the performance of the men. “The women’s games were a lot more intense and competitive than the men’s.”

Former multiple national champion Aparna Popat said Sindhu needs to work on fitness to last in three-set encounters. Queried on the same, Kumar quipped that Sindhu has the tendency to lose focus. “I think she loses concentration in those situations. I don’t think it’s the nerves that get to her.”

 Report card

Men’s singles

B Sai Praneeth lost in 1st round; Kidambi Srikanth lost inpre-quarters; HS Prannoy lost in quarters.

Women’s singles

Saina Nehwal lost in 1st round; PV Sindhu lost in semifinals.

Men’s doubles

Manu Attri/B Sumeeth Reddy lost in 1st round; Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty lost in pre-quarters.

Women’s doubles

J Meghana/Poorvisha S lost in 1st round; Ashwini Ponnappa/N Sikki Reddy lost in 1st round.

Mixed doubles

Pranaav Jerry Chopra/N Sikki Reddy lost in pre-quarters.

vishal@newindianexpress.com