Im super excited about this young talent and cant wait to watch her play tomorrow given it will telecast on the TV so we will get to see the viewable score display given this present telecast is just good for viewing the game but there arent no score board or any info about it which makes us have to have BWF app open to see live scores. I believe its DD Sports that will telecast it.
Unnati's built up is like Sindhu and Saina in their teens and thats the difference between Malvika and Unnati along with shot quality and agility..Malvika who at this age has poor physique and stamina I doubt would be in Top 20 anytime soon. Unnati if she works hard on her shots and stamina and obviously as she gains experience may and could be India's next global representation in Badminton ! Unnati the 14 year old is the First and Only WS player who I see to be close to legends like Saina and Sindhu ! CONGRATS Unnati Hooda for the Finals at Odisha Open 2022 !!
Unnati defeated Malvika in straight games. Superb. I never ever expected. She has agility and she could be the next one behind Saina and Sindhu. I take liberty in saying this because she is very agile and even though she is far from strong build, she make it up with her speed. If she is able to beat current Indian 3rd rank player (Sindhu and Saina being the 1st and 2nd), in straight games, I am very eagerly looking forward to see her future matches in the coming years. I wanna give her 3 years time to build her core strength to match the best in the Tour.
It's funny how everyone knows Unnati hooda. She is a really talented player, no doubt, but no one seems to know about Rakshita sree S. who beat Unnati hooda in the semifinals of National ranking tournament in panchkula. Unnati didn't even win u17 category, but here she is doing well in seniors. Unnati lost to Tasnim Mir in Chennai and beat her in straight games in Hyderabad. She lost to Malvika Bansod in Hyderabad and won here. I am sure she'll be able to beat Rakshita too sometime, but still no one knows her, even when she beat the favourite to win at Panchkula 21-16, 21-13.
Both Hooda also Toshniwal as well beat higher ranked opponents Bansod and Chaliha respectively, sounds interesting to see how the development of this crop of young aspirants ahead...
It's not about remembering the players, just now, I am hearing about Rakshitha sree from Tamilnadu. I am very happy that there is a player from Tamilnadu doing quite well in National tournaments. But as this thread concentrates about Odisha Open, we are focusing mainly on those players who does well in this tournament. Saw the result of U-17 National ranking tournament where Rakshita defeated Unatti in 3 close games. Hope to see more of her in future international tournaments . Because if Rakshita sees Unatti performing well in these tournaments, she will also do well in the future. We are here because we love badminton to the core , watch International tournaments despite being busy in our daily works. If you have anybody in your mind to be mentioned about , please write your thoughts about that player in INDIAN BADMINTON Thread . So that we are able to connect to that player.
A bit unrelated but this is the Indian squad for Asian Team championships in february - (The senior players have been given a rest by almost all teams). The doubles team doesn't look good. The selection criteria is performance in domestic tournaments which I think, was a wrong criteria. All the talented players like Tanisha, Gayathri, Treesa, Bhatnagar, Panjala, Dhruv, Arjun, etc. have not been selected. In women's singles, Tara Shah is selected but not Tasnim Mir, Unnati Hooda, Anupama or Aditi. If India keeps the same criteria for Thomas and Uber Cup, we are doomed. The federation directly selects only those players who are in top 25. But there are many players who are not in top 25 but play international tournaments more than domestic ones because they want to increase their ranking. I really don't see these players making a good enough team. I could be proven wrong but these doubles players have not achieved much on the international circuit.
This team seems like the players chosen from a bunch of players who are available at that time of selection. I don't even know some of them. India keep on sacrificing Team events . As, this is Odisha open thread, we could discuss about it in India badminton thread. Ragu Marichamy is in team too.
Wow, 14 years old Unnati Hooda nails S100 title, a promising sign for IND next generation player, this teenager has pretty good attacking initiative and agility while her older opponent Toshniwal stamina seemed declined gradually in second game.
Unnati is just 14 years old and is also not from gopichand or ppba academy. I don't know how she did it. I am so in awe.
She was interviewed 1 year back I think, where she was asked about her idol. For that , she answered that she will be like Sindhu and even better than her. Straight forward answer. Congratulations to all the winners.
