Junior National Badminton Championship: Rituparna Das overpowers Sara Naqvi in the round-of-16
India’s talented player, Rituparna Das secured her berth in Girls’ Singles U17 quarter-final after proving her worth against Sara Naqvi in the round-of-16 at 36th Junior National Badminton Championship in India, on Friday, February 10.
Rituparna, who was the fourth seed in Girls’ Singles main draw, put up a superb show against the eighth seed Sara and won the battle in three games. Sara played competitive badminton throughout the contest but failed to live up to expectations in the final set and lost the match in 48 minutes.
This three-set match was best fight of the day as both shuttlers showed their elevated skills and kept the home fans engaged throughout the action.
Sara showed her spirited play in the first game as she built pressure on her higher ranked opponent and took an early lead. On the other hand, Rituparna could not stop the attacking play of her lower ranked rival and remained trailing behind until the break.
After the break, Rituparna continued her power play and did not let her rival to level the score. The higher ranked Rituparna failed to produce better play and lost the set with a four-point deficit of 17-21.
In the second game, Rituparna changed her game plan and started to play an attacking game. She also earned many points by executing impressive net shots and managed a comfortable gap until the one-minute interval.
After the break, Rituparna did not let her lower ranked challenger to reduce the deficit as she remained consistent. She kept the pace of rallies high and ended the second game with a remarkable 21-14 score on the board.
In the final set, both shuttlers played to their best speed and remained close in the opening half. Sara made her higher ranked opponent work hard for every point.
However, after the break, Rituparna played with precision and dominated the pace of rallies. She did not face any problem in the concluding half of third set and bagged it with a tremendous 21-13 margin on the score board.
This Girl’s Singles U17 contest ended in 48 minutes with a score of 17-21, 21-14 and 21-13.
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