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Yonex Sunrise India Junior International Grind Prix 2019: Meiraba sails into final with right strategy for lefty Hong
Manipur’s Meiraba Luwang had all shots in his kitty to oust Kok Jing Hong of Malaysia 21-19, 21-12 to enter the final of the Yonex Sunrise India Junior International Grand Prix 2019
Manipur’s Meiraba Luwang had all shots in his kitty to oust Kok Jing Hong of Malaysia 21-19, 21-12 to enter the final of the Yonex Sunrise India Junior International Grand Prix 2019 which is organised in the memory of Late Sushant Chipalkatti at the Modern Sports Complex on Saturday.
From the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy in Bengaluru, Luwang took 21 minutes to wrap up the first game while he needed just 19 more minutes to sent third-seeded Hong packing.
“Till now, all the players I faced were right-handed. However, Hong was left-handed and so I had to change my strategy a little bit. I cannot play all my shots to a left-handed player which I generally play to a right-handed,” said Luwang, who had earlier defeated another Malaysian player Justin Hoh Shou Wei 21-16, 21-12 in the quarter-final match.
Hong was the third Malaysian player in the tourney, who was shown the door by Luwang. In the first round, he got better of Malaysia’s M Fazriq Mohamad Razif 21-12, 21-13.
“He is a very good player. I just kept playing to win,” added Luwang, who is Badminton World Federation (BWF) junior ranked 15.
The Luwang’s victory also ensured that the Indian flag kept flying high in the singles’ category.
Other Indian players – S Sankar Muthuswamy Subramanian, Amit Rathore, Meghana Mareddy were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Player with good defence and offence
Coach Sagar Chopda who trains Luwang in Bengaluru was happy with his performance, but he was not content as he expects Luwang to improve more in how he finishes the game.
“Overall, he was very good. He was lifting the shuttle with ease even near the net. It was just during the second game, when he was 6-8 down, when made little mistakes. Otherwise he performed much better than what he was playing before,” said Chopda.
Luwang, who had recently won the Russian Junior White Nights championship title, also took part in the Badminton Asia Junior Championship and Bulgarian Junior International Championship before coming to Pune.
“Playing with European players helps improve your game as they are more attacking. In India, we see more rallies while European players prefer attacking,” added Chopda.
Crasto-Bhatnagar sizzle
Indian mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ishaan Bhatnagar notched up stunning wins over higher-ranked pairs to advance to the finals of the event.
Continuing from where they had left at the All India Junior Ranking Tournaments in Panchkula and Bengaluru over the last couple of weeks where they emerged victorious, the Goa-Chattisgarh combine of Crasto and Bhatnagar continued to dazzle.
In a hard-fought and gritty quarter-final that lasted 1 hour 4 minutes, the Indians dug deep to show the door to top seeds Sirawit Sothon and Pornnicha Suwatnodom 23-21, 20-22, 21-16.
Refusing to show any signs of tiredness, Crasto and Bhatnagar fought for another three games to knock out the Japanese fourth seeds Tsubasa Kawamura and Hinata Suzuki 18-21, 21-16, 21-13 in 44 minutes. In the final, they will take on the Thai second seeds Benyapa Aimsaard and Ratchapol Makkasasithorn.
Results
Men semi final: 2-Meiraba Luwang (Ind) bt 3-Kok Jing Hong (Mas) 21-19, 21-12 (40 min)
Mixed doubles: Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto (Ind) bt 4-Tsubasa kawamura and Hinata Suzuki (Jpn) 18-21, 21-16, 21-13
