Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand’s terrific run on the All England Open Championship got here to an finish within the semi-final as soon as once more they usually had a lesson in defence on Saturday. The one Indians to go previous the second spherical, the ladies’s doubles pair went down 10-21, 10-21 to Baek HaNa and Lee SoHee in 46-minutes.
Whereas this match was largely one-sided, their loss, as a lot because the three encouraging wins earlier than this, will show to be an vital studying curve for the kids.
The in-form pair from South Korea neatly focused the Indians’ all-out attacking recreation, which is normally a energy. But, when it did not work in opposition to the defensive masterclass on the opposite facet, panic set in and compelled a flurry of straightforward errors that hastened the loss. Baek and Lee stored up the relentless strain by retrieving every little thing thrown at them, which meant the Indians as a rule tried to finish factors unsuccessfully.
It is one thing they acknowledged after the sport. “We learnt quite a bit from this match. The distinction was they did not go away a shuttle and we did panic a bit bit,” Gayatri stated after the match.
Treesa added: “After we performed in opposition to them, their defence was good, it was higher than yesterday. We had been simply panicking and did not play properly, we simply stored attacking.”
Baek and Lee had prevailed in a marathon of prolonged rallies in opposition to eighth seeds Apriyani Rahayu and Siti Fadia Silva Ramadhanti within the quarterfinal a day earlier than however modified tack to play out fast factors whereas beginning the semifinals. They had been quick off the blocks and maintained their velocity to dominate many of the recreation. They raced to a 4-0 lead and prolonged the margin to 5-11 on the interval after a number of fast-paced rallies, pushing their opponents throughout whereas masking their facet utterly.
The rallies step by step grew longer, with a very good 40-shot rally which noticed Gayatri’s comfortable arms on the web stand out. The Indians performed a few good factors to cut back the margin to 9-13 however they’d win just one extra level within the recreation as a late Koreans blitz examined their response time and motion.
Coach Mathias Boe and G Arun Vishnu pressured the significance of defence on the change of ends, nevertheless it did not change a lot because the Koreans continued to make the Indians both rush or overhit their photographs.
They’d a large 11-2 lead heading into the mid-game interval within the second recreation and the nerves and strain had been evident in Treesa and Gayatri’s physique language. They stemmed the one- sided visitors lastly with a stunning web kill from Gayatri and an angled winner from Treesa that must have given them some confidence.
However the margin was too large at that time and as their opponents began participating in lengthy, lifting rallies and giving up some straightforward factors, the Indians reached double digits. It was by no means going to be sufficient nevertheless, they usually transformed the primary of their 10 match factors after one other unforced error from the Indians.
Ha Na Baek & So Hee Lee are our first #YAE23 finalists!
They beat Jolly & Pullela 21-10 21-10 on this morning’s first match ���� pic.twitter.com/WQPKqYfws5
– �� Yonex All England Badminton Championships �� (@YonexAllEngland) March 18, 2023
Regardless of the loss, there may be loads to take dwelling for the Indian children. That is solely their second full season on the tour they usually’ve already made the High 20. Final 12 months, they reached the semis after being promoted from the reserves and a walkover, however this 12 months they had been one of many type pairs and beat two High-10 opponents.
A match like this can enhance their concentrate on balancing defence with their aggressive recreation, at all times a useful trait in girls’s doubles. It will additionally assist practise endurance beneath strain, one thing that may solely be realized on the match court docket. That is the lens with which they need to look again at this week. “We performed in opposition to some good gamers, the arrogance was there. So we’re trying ahead to the following tournaments. We’ve got much more to be taught. We are going to come again stronger,” Treesa stated.
Up subsequent for them is the Swiss Open and Madrid Masters, each Tremendous 300 occasions on the European leg of the tour. They may hope to proceed their good run of type there, at the same time as their unbeaten run from February (Badminton Asia Combined Staff Championship and Nationals) got here to an finish.