New Delhi, Aug 19 (IANS) Unnati Hooda’s BWF World Championships debut came to an agonising end on Wednesday as the 18-year-old Indian let slip a match point and two other opportunities before losing 21-11, 9-21, 21-23 to Canada’s Michelle Li in a gripping Round-of-32 contest at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in New Delhi.
Unnati, who had entered the second round after overcoming Myanmar’s Thet Htar Thuzar in straight games, pushed the experienced Li into a deciding game and appeared within touching distance of a memorable victory. The Indian had match point at 20-19, but Li survived the scare and eventually edged the decider 23-21.
Reflecting on the contest, Unnati felt there was little to separate the two players for much of the match. She was particularly disappointed that she could not make the most of the chances that came her way late in the decider.
“I feel it was a good match, and she was also playing really well, and it was neck and neck, and in the end it was a bit of noise and a bit of how better we can control, and I had two advantages and couldn’t convert the match. I am happy with the way I played the whole match, but I am sad that I could have converted it into a really good win. So I’ll just take good points from here and work hard on whatever is next,” Unnati told the media after her loss.
The deciding game became a battle for control around the net, with both players repeatedly looking to seize the initiative in the front court. Unnati said the exchanges there became one of the defining features of the contest.
“There is not one particular point I would say but there were a few good net shots, a few good taps from my side and a few good taps she also hit so yeah it was good competition going on on the front court so whosoever was taking on the front court was getting good chance to attack so it was more competition on the front court who can get more chance to hit. It was a good match I got today, and I’ll take learning from today’s match and next Asian Games, so I’ll prepare for that,” she added.
--IANS
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