The new look Indian combination of Ashwini Ponnapaa and
Pradnya Gadre once again proved that they have the potential to make a mark on
the international circuit when they upset sixth seed and two time Super Series
winners Ma Jin and Junhua Tang of China 22-24, 21-16, 21-19 in the second round
of the Malaysia Super Series.
World number 118 combination of Ashwini and Pradnya came
together after the senior nationals in October and the victory over the Chinese
combination is all the more special because this is only their third tournament
together.
Ashwini was forced to look for a new partner after Jwala
Gutta, whom she pair with for the London Olympics, decided to take a break for
badminton in August.
Ashwini and Pradnya, who had also reached the quarterfinals of
the Macau Open GP Gold, clearly went into the second round match as underdogs
against the Chinese combination which had won two Super Series and reached the
final of last week’s Korea Open Super Series Premier.
But the Indians were determined to take the fight to their
oppositions and the intent was clear in the first game itself when they matched
their more experienced opponents in the first game. Though the Chinese managed
to scrape through on their fifth game point, the Indians came back strongly to
take the next two and set up a quarterfinal clash against the Indonesian
combination of Vita Marissa and Aprilsasi Variella.
In the women’s singles, top seed Saina Nehwal took her
designated spot in the quarterfinals with a 21-12, 21-9 victory over Pui Yin
Yip of Hong Kong and will now take on Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara for a berth in the
semifinal.
However, the Indian challenge in men’s singles came to an
end with the defeats of P Kashyap and RMV Guru Sai Dutt.
