Pratul Joshi, the top ranked men’s singles player in the Indian domestic circuit, avenged his defeat against Sourabh Verma at two Asian Games selection tournaments in June by beating him in a thrilling pre-quarterfinal match at the Hyderabad Open on Thursday.
Joshi had lost to Verma in three games (17-21, 21-14, 21-18) in the final of the selection tournament in Bengaluru – a match that lasted an hour and 12 minutes. The two had also squared off in the second round of the Hyderabad selection tournament, where Joshi had lost in straight games. Verma went on to make India’s Asian Games squad, while Joshi missed out.
Playing again in Hyderabad after almost three months, Joshi looked to be heading towards a third straight defeat against Verma as he lost the first game 14-21 on Thursday. However, the 23-year-old managed to turn things around and win the next two games 21-13 and 21-19 to book a spot in the quarter-finals.
“In the first game, I tried to finish off rallies fast and that’s why I lost,” Joshi said after the match. “Sourabh is a patient player and is very good in defence, so I had to do the same. From the second game, I started rallying with him and it worked out.”
Learning from past mistakes
Joshi had a very healthy 15-9 lead in the deciding game before Verma managed to close it down to 18-18. This is when Joshi had a flashback to Bengaluru when he had let go of a similar lead in the final game to go on and lose the match, and title.
However, rather than making him nervous, the flashback came to his rescue. “I remembered that I lost that match after trying to attack too much in those final points. Today, I made sure I did not repeat that mistake,” he said.
The two players exchanged a few long rallies towards the end of the deciding game. Joshi wrapped up the match with a jump smash that Verma could only return into the net. Quite understandably, the India No 1 dropped to his knees and let out a huge roar after finally getting one over his nemesis.
He will, however, have to guard himself against some brotherly revenge as he takes on Sourabh’s younger brother Sameer Verma, the top seed, in the quarters on Friday.
Verma was not the only seed who lost on Thursday. Women’s singles top seed Dinar Dyah Ayustine of Indonesia was beaten in straight games by her compatriot Yeo Jia Min, while Korea’s An Se Young defeated third seed Brittney Tam of Canada, also in straight games.
Other major results
Sameer Verma [1] beat Kevin Arokia Walter 21-14, 21-9.
RMV Gurusaidutt beat Daniel S Farid 21-14, 21-13.
Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli [5] beat Nuntakarn Aimsaard 21-15, 21-18.
Heo Kwang Hee [8] beat Ikhsan Leonardo Imanuel Rumbay 21-13, 17-21, 21-18.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy/Chirag Shetty [1] beat Bagas Maulana/Frengky Wijaya Putra 21-13, 21-17.
Arun George/Sanyam Shukla [4] beat Krishna Prasad Garaga/Dhruv Kapila 21-16, 21-18.
Arjun MR/Maneesha K beat Rehan Naufal Kusharjanto/Siti Fadia Silva Ramdhanti 8-21, 21-19, 21-15.
NG Tsz Yau/Yuen Sin Ying [5] beat Rutaparna Panda/Arathi Sara Sunil 21-9, 21-14.
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