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Kashyap, the Golden Boy
In Delhi Commonwealth Games, Indian shuttlers had claimed two golds, 1 silver and 1 bronze. This year, we managed a gold, silver and two bronze. True, we did not win a medal in the mixed team event but the biggest takeaway has been India’s performance in men’s singles. Not only did Parupalli Kashyap convert his Delhi CWG bronze into gold, but he finally managed to come out of the shadow of his more fancied women compatriots. After all this is India’s 1st CWG gold in men’s singles since Syed Modi won it in 1982.
The women’s singles final was expected to be an all-India affair but with Saina Nehwal’s withdrawal, that was not to be. However, many expected PV Sindhu to do the honours . Li Michelle of course had other plans and Sindhu lost to her twice- in the team and individual events and had to be content with bronze. Perhaps that makes Kashyap’s win all the more special. The veteran lost to England’s Rajiv Ouseph (Delhi Games silver medalist) in the team event, but edged the Delhi Games silver medallist in 3 tight games in the semis of Individual category to set up a title clash with Derek Wong of Singapore.
Gurusaidutt won bronze
Kashyap might also want to thank compatriot Gurusaidutt who ousted top seed Wei Feng Chong in the quarters. It could easily have been an all-Indian final with the fifth seed leading 21-19 19-16 in the semis before Wong staged a remarkable comeback to win the last two games. Guru however avoided another disappointment by beating Ouseph in a three game thriller to win the bronze.
Match Report
In the final, Kashyap once again used his experience to outclass an extremely tenacious opponent 21-14 11-21 21-19 . After winning the first game easily, the Indian made a slew of unforced errors as the Singaporean started to attack more. Kashyap started with a slender lead of 2-0 in the third game, but soon found himself trailing 8-11. Once again his exquisite net play and accurate body smashes came to the rescue as the score was levelled at 14-14.
Egged on by a vociferous crowd, the 27 year old raced away to a 19-16 lead and it looked like Wong had run out of steam. As in the semis, the 45th ranked Singaporean once again came back from behind to level it at 19-19 much to the agony of Indian fans who had a feeling of deja vu. Kashyap though prevented any repeat of the semis drama by clinching the last 2 points and giving India her final gold medal in Glasgow.
The Old Warriors Slog On
The games were also significant for Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa who once again came up with consistent results to clinch silver in the women’s doubles. The defending champions looked a bit out-of-sorts in the final and wasted four game points leading 20-16 in the second game. However given their current form, one can expect them to do some damage at the upcoming World Championships. A special mention for P C Thulasi who lost in women’s singles quarters after winning the first game against Jing Yi Tee.
One might have missed Saina Nehwal in women’s singles, but otherwise Indian badminton is surely looking beyond its most tested warrior.
