Nagpur, Jan 13
After defeating London bronze medalist Saina Nehwal in the second round of India Open, Nagpur shuttler Malvika Bansod said it was one of the biggest wins of her career so far.
While interacting with media persons on the virtual platform Malvika who recorded an easy 21-17, 21-9 win over former World No. one said, “ "Saina has always been my idol. So playing against her was a dream come true and that too in the Indian Open, on such a big stage. A Super 500 tournament, it was a big achievement for me, one of the biggest wins of my career so far."
Asked whether there was any pressure on her before the match, Malvika said, “I don't think there was any pressure on me today. I just thought that I have to give my best and play freely." She also said the experience of turning up in the Uber Cup and Sudirman Cup helped.
About her rival she said, “ She has been my idol because she has been the flag bearer of women's badminton in India for more than a decade. Seeing her matches when I started out, I used to get very overawed by her game. Her style of play, she has got a lot of power so I idolise that in her game. Today I played an all-round game, there was nothing specific about it." It was the first time the two were meeting in big tournament. Having overcome a difficult journey in the last two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Malvika is now aiming to improve her world rankings. The player from Nagpur is currently ranked 111th.
"I am aiming for better ranking in the near future so that I can play in high ranking tournaments like Super 500 Super 300 and Super 1000, so that I could improve my ranking faster." Asked where she needs to improve, Malvika said, "I think that after having a big lead, I tend to lose points. I need to cut down on unforced errors." Saina, 31, who has been dealing with injuries since her knee surgery post the Rio Olympics 2016, lavished praise on her younger opponent after the match, saying she is a "very good" rally player.
Speaking about the recent times, she said, "The journey in the last two years has been difficult in many ways because of the pandemic as training has not been the way it was before the pandemic." Malvika has so far won three all India senior ranking tournaments -- the first one was in Bareilly in 2018, the next was in Kozhikode, Kerala in 2019 and the third one was in Hyderabad last year.
"My coach Mr Sanjay Mishra has taken special effort to keep my training on during these difficult times and he has kept special sessions for me during the lockdown periods so that I don't miss training. It's because of that I could win these tournaments.