Badminton Asia Championships 2019: Saina, Sameer and Sindhu sail; Srikanth falters 

The 39th Badminton Asia Championships that is being held in Wuhan, China got off to a bittersweet start for the Indian brigade. The six-day long event promises exciting action on court and the second day of the tournament revealed the same. The Indian squad, comprising Saina Nehwal, PV Sindhu, Sameer Verma, and Kidambi Srikanth, headed to the Wuhan Sports Center Gymnasium with the hope of winning medals for the country.

There was no stopping PV Sindhu who looked to be in sizzling form as she brushed aside the obstacles posed by her opponent from Japan, Takahashi Sayaka. The fourth-seeded shuttler did not face much trouble as she overthrew Sayaka in a straight-game victory in just 21-14, 21-7. With that, Sindhu has booked her spot in the pre-quarter-finals of the event and will be clashing against Indonesia's Choirunnisa.

On the other hand, Commonwealth Games gold medalist and seventh-seeded shuttler Saina Nehwal was made to go the stretch in her opening match. China's Han Yue ensured that Saina has to bring out her very best game to seize the win in a thrilling yet exhausting 12-21, 21-11, 21-17 match.

Saina failed to get her stride early into the match and eventually lost the first game. However, the former World No. 1 soon clawed back to send Han Yue packing home in no time at all. She will be faced with the hurdle of South Korea's Kim Ga Yun in the following round, whose challenge she has to overthrow to enter the quarters of the event where she was a bronze medalist in the 2018 edition.

Sameer Verma did not have his victory handed to him on a plate either as he was made to go the extra mile in defeating Japan's Sakai Kazumasa. The Indian shuttler, who is in good form currently, saw off the threat of Kazumasa after a hard-fought battle of 21-13, 17-21, 21-18. The Indian lost his footing in the middle of the match but he made up for it by clinching the third game and securing a date with Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus for the following round.

The sole and sore disappointment that arrived on the first day came from the men’s singles category. The fifth-seeded Kidambi Srikanth, who opened his campaign against Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito, an opponent he last encountered in BWF World Junior Championships in 2011, ultimately succumbed to him, on both occasions. Rhustavito overpowered Srikanth after 44 minutes of intense net action which concluded with a 21-16, 22-20 win in the favour of the Indonesian.

The journey for the doubles players also came to a sudden halt with the men’s doubles pair of M.R. Arjun and Ramchandran Shlok being handed their defeat in 18-21, 15-21 to the Chinese duo of He Jiting and Tan Qiang. Similarly, in the women’s doubles event, the Indian brigade failed to register any win as all three pairs lost.

Meghana Jakkampudi and Poorvisha S. Ram lost 21-13, 21-16 to the Thai pair of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai. There was also the pairing of Pooja Dandu and Sanjana Santosh who succumbed to the Sri Lankan duo of Thilini Pramodika Hendahewa and Kavidi Sirimannage in 21-13, 12-21, 21-12.

The experienced shuttler duo of Aparna Balan-Sruthi K. were also shown the door after a 12-21, 10-21 loss in just 25 minutes to the unseeded Singaporean pairing of Jin Yujia and Sugiarto and Barkah Yulfira.

However, the medal hopes are still very much alive despite the major disappointments in the doubles category and a minor but glaring upset in the men's singles campaign of the Indians. With Saina and Sindhu leading the women's singles side of the tournament, there seems to be a very good chance of either of the duo converting this outing to Wuhan into a medal win. Sameer Verma, should also concentrate on his game to secure that elusive win in the Championships and hoist the Indian flag of badminton a little higher in the Asian circuit.