Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa keep India’s hopes alive in Women’s Doubles event of London Olympics
India’s Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa finally found their lost rhythm and claimed first win in London Olympics at Wembley Arena on Monday, July 30, 2012.
They trounced higher ranked Women’s Doubles pair Cheng Wen Hsing-Chien Yu Chin to stay in the race of glory.
This hard fought battle prolonged to three gruelling sets before ending with final figures of 25-23, 16-21 and 21-18.
World Number 20 duo Jwala-Ashwini defied all odds and locked the honour by prevailing in opening and closing segments of the tussle.
On the other hand, the World Number ten pair put a below par performance and surrendered tamely.
The opening game set the overall pace of match as both teams strived hard to push the opponent on the back-foot by pocketing vital match point.
They remained toe-to-toe all the way to game point situation as none of them could gain a permanent lead throughout this crucial set.
In first half, both contenders snapped each other’s heels and stayed close until the announcement of mid-game break.
Later part of the game started with lot of fireworks as the twosome of Jwala-Ashwini were enjoying an upper hand at one stage but then Taipei shuttlers tipped the scale in their favour in the third quarter.
The game kept swinging between them until the Indian campaigners finished this nerve-racking tussle with a tight yet decisive margin of 25-23.
Next game added more thrill in the contest as Wen Hsing-Yu Chin stormed back with a strong reply and won this crucial set.
This time they played with great precision and established an irrefutable lead straight away in the beginning. They maintained the upper hand throughout the second game.
They cornered their challengers with an indomitable figure of 11 and then magnified the impact after the interval by registering 21-16 score on the board.
The decider became consequential with this revised status and both teams put all in their possession to oust the opponent in the third and final set.
They made the crowd gasp with their breath-taking performance and earned great deal of admiration.
However, the Commonwealth Games gold medallist pair Jwala-Ashwini displayed superior finishing skills and sealed the victory with final result of 21-18.
Tags: