Thailand Open: Bansod Survives, Kharb Falls in Tests of Confidence
Opportunities taken and lost; battles with self and opponents and drift and form – just another day on the HSBC BWF World Tour.
· DEV SUKUMAR
Anmol Kharb and Malvika Bansod are separated by just two spots in the BWF World Rankings. Their career trajectories are different; yet, in terms of battling recent crises of confidence, they might well be swimming in the same waters. At the end of the first round matches today at the TOYOTA Thailand Open 2026, one of them was left in tears, ruing a missed window of opportunity; the other could savour her survival skills and the prospect of one more match. Every player has a unique story, but sometimes, briefly, different stories intersect.
World No.48 Kharb, looking for the one win that would have injected confidence after months of disappointing results, was heading for a win over world No.4 Chen Yu Fei – leading 11-2 at the break in the third and Chen looking a shadow of herself, before the match slipped the Indian’s grasp in a heap of errors.
How much of Kharb’s loss from that dominant position was down to lack of confidence? The confidence that seems to have deserted her over a year of disappointing results?