First Battle Won, Pusarla Stakes Out New Year Challenges
It was a tough opening assignment for the new year for Pusarla V Sindhu, getting back on court after the high of December’s HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2018 victory.
· DEV SUKUMAR
The Indian’s first World Tour match in 2019 involved a face-off with 2012 Olympic champion Li Xuerui, a former top rival still finding her way back into the top echelons of badminton after a career-threatening injury that she suffered during the 2016 Olympics.
Li looked some way off from the smooth-moving, sharp hitting force that dominated women’s singles badminton in her time, but the former Olympic champion still had the smarts and the skills to push Pusarla into a corner. The Indian had to dig deep to overcome the challenge, coming away victorious at 22-24 21-8 21-17 after trailing by a bit in the third.
“It’s my first match of the new year and it went well,” said Pusarla. “I wasn’t nervous, even though I was trailing in the third. I played my game, and had the hope that I could win. I didn’t get irritated despite trailing and played my game. The drift played a role too - sometimes you think the shuttle’s going to fall right but it moves away. I had to control the shuttle and be patient. Today, in the third game I was trailing, but still I could stay hopeful. This win was good for my confidence. It is important that in the early rounds when you are down you have to be mentally calm.”