Malvika Bansod Wins Two International Badminton Titles In A Row

The Badminton prodigy of Nagpur, Malvika Bansod registered an astounding feat by winning two international badminton titles back to back within a week. At a nail-biting match of women’s singles summit of Anapurna Nepal International Series Badminton Champion tournament held on Sunday at Tripureshwar, Malvika defeated Gayatri Gopichand, world No 325 badminton player in 42 minutes. The scoreboard of the two matches read 21-14 and 21-18 respectively. This was the second victory of Malvika as, on September 22, she also won the Maldives International Future Series at Male which was also her debut senior international match and victory.

She is also the third in the city of Pune to win the women's singles title after Arundhati Pantawane and Ritika Thaker. The triumphs of Malvika in a row has made her the rising star of Indian Badminton who won her debut match and added another to it in a couple of weeks.

Key Takeaways:

• Malvika Bansod registered an astounding feat on Sunday by winning international badminton titles back to back.
• The first and debut victory in the senior international circuit was on last Sunday in the Maldives Maldives International Future Series at Male.
• The second victory was in women’s singles summit of Anapurna Nepal International Series Badminton Champion tournament held on Sunday at Tripureshwar.
• In the Nepal series, she defeated Gayatri Gopichand, world no. 325 badminton player with the score of 21-14, 21-18.

The teenager has defeated the national coach Pullela Gopichand’s 16-years-old daughter, Gayatri Gopichand who is also the world No 325 badminton player while Malvika is numbered world's 452.

The 18-years-old player from Nagpur has set a memorable record of victory in the badminton championship titles. The teenager has defeated the national coach Pullela Gopichand’s 16-years-old daughter, Gayatri Gopichand who is also the world No 325 badminton player while Malvika is numbered world's 452. Amidst the series of triumph, the rising badminton star lost a match in the quarter-finals against Japan’s Chika Shingayama on Friday in Nepal tournament. With the only exception of this match, Malvika emerged triumphant in all the matches held in the last couple of weeks in Maldives and Nepal.

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Nail-biting match between two talented Badminton players

The finals of the Anapurna Nepal International Series Badminton Champion tournament, two of the prodigal badminton players of the same country had a face-off. The close clash between them was indeed unforgettable. Malvika gave an excellent start to the game and easily wrapped the match at 21-14. However, in the second round, both players were somewhat even as Malvika was relegated from the lead of 11-7 after the break when Gayatri made a massive comeback in the game.

Towards the end of the match, the game changer and an excellent shot from Malvika’s racket gained her the victory with the score of 21-18.

It was the second match between the two talented badminton players in international tournaments. The first time Malvika and Gayatri faced each other in an International match was at the India Junior Grand Prix qualifiers of 2017. In this match which was held in Pune, Malvika again clinched victory over Gayatri with the score of 21-19, 21-13.

While on the domestic level, the two players have faced each other at the court several times and particularly in India Junior ranking meet. In this too Malvika registered phenomenal victories in successive tournaments at Chandigarh and Panchkula. This victory marked the feat of the year just before she secured a berth in the 2018 World Junior Championship held in Canada.

"It was a fortnight-long tour having won the tournament at the Maldives last Sunday; I had to continue with the same focus and tempo in the Nepal series.”

The rising Indian Badminton star finally gets her dream:

After the series of phenomenal victories, the teenager Malvika Bosand is finally happy to achieve her dream. She attributes her success to her chief junior national badminton coach Sanjay Mishra. Expressing her gratitude, Malvika said to Times of India, “I am very glad that I could win two back-to-back titles in my first exposure in the senior international circuit. I am very grateful to my coach Sanjay Mishra Sir for his training and guidance. It was a fortnight-long tour having won the tournament at the Maldives last Sunday; I had to continue with the same focus and tempo in the Nepal series.”

In fact, Malvika’s coach Sanjay Mishra is also happy and satisfied with her performance. He is optimistic about Malvika’s future as an Indian badminton player. He said, “It is a very creditable achievement by Malvika. She proved that the victory at the Maldives on her debut was not a fluke. This is a first step and she has a long way to go. With this twin success, her confidence will be boosted but it is not the right time to celebrate as she has to achieve glory in major tournaments in future.”

Picture Credit: Times Of India

Rudrani Kumari is an intern with SheThePeople.TV

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