Ashwini-Pradnya stun Chinese pair in Malaysia Open Superseries

Ashwini Ponnappa (FILE PHOTO)

India’s Ashwini Ponnappa and Pradnya Gadre achieved a stunning result at the Malaysia Open Superseries, upsetting a fancied Chinese pair on Thursday.

The new pair of Ponnappa and Gadre, formed after Ponnappa’s regular partner Jwala Gutta decided on a sabbatical after the London Olympics, shocked the Chinese pair of Ma Jin/Tang Jinhua in the second round in a thriller of a match, 22-24 21-16 21-19. The Indians next face a relatively weaker Indonesian team in the quarterfinals.

Ma Jin and Tang Jinhua won two Superseries events in 2012 and the final of the Korea Open last week. Ma Jin is regarded as one of the finest contemporary women’s doubles players, as she has won nearly every title with different partners.

On Thursday, however, the Indian pair kept its nerve in the pivotal third game. The managed to keep a lead throughout, and even when the Chinese equalised from 13-16 and 17-19, the Indians didn’t lose heart. They converted their first match point.

Earlier, the first game was neck-and-neck. The Chinese had two game points at 20-18 but Ponnappa and Gadre saved both. Eventually, Ma Jin and Tang Jinhua converted their fifth game point, but the confidence of the Indians was so high that they won the second game quite easily.

Tom John, coach of Ashwini Ponnappa, was thrilled about the result. “It’s a good win,” he said. “They have to go on and win the next match too.”