Badminton Asia Team Championships: Indian Women Edge Past Japan To Storm Into Maiden Final

KUALA LUMPUR: Indian women shuttlers’ have scripted history by storming into their first-ever final at the Badminton Asia Team Championships, thereby continuing their dream run.

The Indian team edged past two-time former champions Japan 3-2 in a closely contested semi-final fixture on Saturday.

India managed to seal their spot in the summit clash due to the impressive victories registered by World No. 23 pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, world No. 53 Ashmita Chaliha and the 17-year-old Anmol Kharb in the first doubles and second and deciding singles.

India will now lock horns against Thailand in the final on Sunday in their quest for glory.

In the nail-biting encounter, the Japanese team were missing some key players, which included the likes of world No. 4 Akane Yamaguchi, world No. 7 pair of Yuki Fukushima and Sayaka Hirota and world No. 8 combination of Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara.

Regardless of that, Japan were still a formidable side, making it a grueling battle for India.

PV Sindhu, making her comeback from a long injury layoff, could not produce her best performance as she went down 13-21, 20-22 to the left-handed Aya Ohori in the first singles to peg India back.

Treesa and Gayatri, playing the first doubles, produced a stunning performance under pressure to get the better of world No. 6 Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida 21-17, 16-21, 22-20 in a 73-minute contest.

With the fixture tied at 1-1, Assam girl Ashmita stole the show by registering a shocking upset over former world champion Nozomi Okuhara.

The left-handed Assamese badminton sensation produced an aggressive game, using her overhead cross drops and jump smashes to optimal use, to cruise past her opponent 21-17, 21-14 to hand India a 2-1 lead.

However, the resilient Japanese pair of Rena Miyaura and Ayako Sakuramoto, ranked World No. 11, kept Japan alive in the fixture by cruising past the Indian duo of Sindhu and Ashwini Ponnappa 21-14, 21-11 in 43 minutes.

With the five-match rubber evenly poised at 2-2, Anmol was tasked with the responsibility of taming world No. 29 Natsuki Nidaira and the Indian once again lived up to the expectation, claiming a 21-14, 21-18 win in 52 minutes.

India will set out to clinch glory in the final on Sunday and will hope to bring home the country's first-ever gold in the continental championship. India had won two bronze medals in men’s team event in the 2016 and 2020 editions.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old Indian badminton player Ashmita Chaliha was born and brought up in Assam's Guwahati. The talented shuttler began playing badminton at a tender age of seven, and trained at the Assam Badminton Academy under Indonesian coach Edwin Iriawan and India’s Suranjan Bhobora.

The Guwahati girl happened to be a part of the national junior team that competed at the 2017 World and Asian Junior Championships. She was also selected to be part of the Indian team for the 2018 Asian Games in Indonesia.

Ashmita clinched her first senior international title at the 2018 Dubai International Challenge in the women's singles event.

Her other accomplishments include winning gold medals at the 2019 South Asian Games in the women's singles and team events, among others.

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