NAGPUR: Two months after becoming the second Indian shuttler to beat former World No. 1 Saina Nehwal since 2007, young Malvika Bansod scripted her career's second-biggest win, prevailing over World no 24 Han Yue from China in the Korea Open on Tuesday.
In her very first meeting with any opponent from China, the 20-year-old scripted a gritty comeback, rallying from a game down to seal a memorable 20-22, 22-20, 21-10 victory over Han, the 2017 Asian Junior champion.
In her second World Tour Super 500 tourney, the unseeded Malvika took 56 minutes to defeat the Chinese shuttler. In her first Super 500 tournament, the India Open in January, the World No. 65 had defeated her idol Saina.
Happy with Malvika's show on Tuesday, coach Sanjay Mishra is optimistic about a superlative performance in the tournament. "This victory is another step towards the destination, and I want to see her reach that target. Up against the experienced Chinese, Malvika initiated long rallies and clinched the match in dominant fashion," Mishra told TOI.
In the neck-and-neck opening game, Malvika began with a 3-0 lead, after which the Chinese brought parity at 7-7 and headed into the break with an 11-10 advantage. Malvika then won six successive points to take a 16-11 lead and stretched it further to 20-16, only to see a comeback from her higher-ranked opponent, who went on to save four game points to make it 20-20. Han held her nerves and won back-to-back points to win the opening game.
Unsettled by the Chinese player's aggression in the dying stage of the first game, Malvika started the second essay on a dominant note. With an early advantage, Malvika headed to the break at 11-4 and stretched the lead further to 14-7 and then 20-17, only to see the Chinese clawing her way back again, bringing parity at 20-20. A quick learner, Malvika involved Han in long rallies to win two successive points and level things up, taking the second game 22-20.
In the decider, Malvika continued to elongate the rallies. A close contest ensued and the shuttlers were tied at 7-7, before Malvika raced away to an 11-7 lead before the change of sides. Continuing from where she left, Malvika didn't give any chance to the Chinese to settle down. After scoring nine unanswered points, the 20-year-old snapped up the decider 21-10.
Malvika, who had reached the finals of the Syed Modi Super 300 tournament in January, will now face World No.10 and sixth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand in the second round on Thursday.
