Maisnam Meiraba was the lone bright stop for India in an otherwise dismal performance from the team in an 1-4 loss to South Korea at the junior Asia Championships in China on Sunday.
India had already booked a spot in the quarter-final on the first day itself after blanking both Mongolia and Macau China by an identical score of 5-0.
Meiraba dug deep in a match which went on for one hour and 32 minutes to beat Hyeon Seung Park 21-19, 19-21, 21-18. He has been been in top form of late and even won his first international tournament at the White Night Russian Junior International earlier this month.
The mixed doubles pair of Dingku Singh Konthoujam and Ritika Thaker fought for 56 minutes before going down 21-19, 12-21, 12-21 to Dong Ju Ki and Eun Ji Lee. Goa’s Tanisha Crasto and Kerala’s Treesa Jolly were equally impressive but lost 16-21, 21-16, 12-21 to Young Bin Ji and Eun Ji Lee in girl’s doubles.
In boy’s doubles, the pair of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Vishnu Vardhan Goud Panjala found Korea’s Dong Ju Ki and Joon Young Kim too strong in their 17-21, 15-21 defeat. While Malvika Bansod suffered a 10-21, 8-21 defeat to Ga Lam Kimin the girl’s singles.
“Korea was always supposed to be a tough hurdle but I am happy to see how the team performed under pressure,” said chief junior coach Sanjay Mishra.
“They never looked to be intimidated and the attitude was perfect. The hard work that we did in the 15-day camp before the tournament paid off. With more experience and exposure, the youngsters can make a lot of difference,” he added.
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