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India’s Anand Pawar frittered away an opening game win to lose in three games 21-12, 12-21, 17-21 to Japan’s Sho Sasaki in the second round of the Adidas China Masters badminton tournament being played at the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium, Changzhou, China on Thursday.
With Pawar’s defeat, India’s campaign in the Adidas China Masters comes to an end.
The 37th ranked Indian hit the straps straightaway in the opening game and caught the 21st ranked Japanese napping with his nifty net play. Even before Sasako could settle down, Pawar gained a sizable lead to hold sway midway through the opening game.
The Indian collected five points on the trot to consolidate his position before sealing the opening game at 21-12.
Unfazed by the listless opening game loss, Sasaki brought out his best to the fore, covering the court well unleashing winners at will to knock the stuffing out of Pawar.
The Japanese raced to a 8-0 lead in the second game before Pawar opened his account. The early damage inflicted by Sasaki was enough for him to call the shots in the second game.
Although Pawar narrowed the points gap to 9-15, the Japanese was in no mood to throw it away and wrapped up the second game at 21-14.
The Indian began the third game on a bright note, taking a 3-1 lead before Sasaki turned things around, taking a slew of points to push the former on the backfoot.
Like in the second game, the Japanese collected seven consecutive points to pave the way for a facile third game win at 21-16 in a contest that lasted 55 minutes.
This was Pawar’s third defeat at the hands of Sasaki.
He got a walkover from top-seed Chen Long of China in the first round.
Earlier in the day, Ajay Jayaram crashed out in the first round of the Adidas China Masters, losing in straight games to China’s Yuekun Chen 14-21, 21-23.
The 24th ranked Indian, who turned out for Hyderabad Hotshots in the inaugural Indian Badminton League, struggled to get going and conceded the early initiative to the 30th ranked Chen, who consolidated on his promising beginning to race away to a sizable lead midway through the first game.
The Chinese was imperious at the net, logging as many as 21 winners at the net, even as Jayaram was not allowed to settle into any kind of rhythm. Chen culled four points on the trot to press home the advantage to seal the opening game at 21-14.
The Indian needed to produce something out of the ordinary in the second game to stay in the contest. And indeed, Jayaram looked a transformed player as he exuded plenty of resilience and matched Chen in all departments of the game.
If Chen was continuing to pound winners at the net, Jayaram was not far behind giving his opponent a dose of his own medicine, pulling off a slew of winners at the net.
Jayaram squandered two game points before Chen held his nerves to win the second game at 23-21 in a contest that lasted 36 minutes.
