Badminton Asia Team Championships: 17-Year-Old Anmol Kharb Turns Superstar As India Tame Japan To Enter First-Ever Final
Shah Alam: The Indian women’s team continued their dream run at the Badminton Asia Team Championships by qualifying for their first-ever final as they stunned two-time former champions Japan 3-2 in a thrilling semifinal on Saturday. India will face Thailand in the final on Sunday. In a five-game encounter, India started on a strong note with world No. 23 pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand and world No. 53 Ashmita Chaliha registering stunning wins to give them a 2-0 lead. However, unlike in the quarterfinal, PV Sindhu failed to replicate her show by going down against left-handed Aya Ohori 13-21, 20-22.
With Tanisha Crasto unable to take the court due to a niggle, Sindhu then paired up with Ashwini Ponnappa but failed to go past world No. 11 pair of Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto and lost 14-21, 11-21 in 43 minutes. The score was locked 2-2 at that point with the big responsibility falling upon 17-year-old Anmol Kharb.
The Indian lived up to the expectation as she tamed world No. 29 Natsuki Nidaira, claiming a 21-14, 21-18 win in 52 minutes. The final appearance keeps India’s hopes of winning a first-ever gold in the continental championship. India had won two bronze medals in men’s team event in the 2016 and 2020.
Earlier, Treesa and Gayatri dished out a superlative performance to outwit world No. 6 Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida 21-17, 16-21, 22-20 in a 73-minute contest. Up against former world champion Nozomi Okuhara, who is currently ranked world No. 20, the left-handed Ashmita produced an aggressive game, using her overhead cross drops and jump smashes to good use, to record a shocking 21-17, 21-14.
Though Japan were without their world No. 4 Akane Yamaguchi, world No. 7 pair of Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota and world No. 8 combination of Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara, they were still a formidable side, making it a tough battle for India. On Friday, India had blanked Hong Kong 3-0 to reach the semi-finals. Prior to that, Indian women had upset China to top Group W.