The name Ashmita Chaliha may not ring as many bells as some of the younger players in India\u2019s badminton ecosystem, but that is because a career-threatening knee injury had almost derailed her journey two years ago. The 26-year-old from Guwahati, however, showed her class to rally past Chinese fourth seed Han Qianxi and win the Korea Masters for her maiden BWF Tour title.<\/p>\n
Her 14-21, 21-14, 21-14 victory marks back-to-back BWF World Tour finals victories for Indians, with Tanvi Sharma having won the Taipei Open last Sunday. \u201cI feel really great and unbelievable, but then I am trying to digest it. Now, I am hungry for more,\u201d Ashmita said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore the injury, Ashmita was already a good player and a very good talent. She has a good smash and nice movement, but unfortunately, at the wrong time, she had to take a break because of the injury,\u201d Ashmita\u2019s coach Park Tae-Sang told PTI.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen she joined me, I thought: Oh, she is a good player. But tactically and strategically, and also a little bit mentally, she had some problems. Yesterday, we also did a video analysis of her Chinese opponent. I told Ashmita: Your biggest problem is your own mistakes. You are making simple mistakes. But if you can reduce those simple mistakes by 100 per cent, I promise you, you can win the title today,\u201d said Park, who trains Ashmita at Guwahati\u2019s National Centre of Excellence.<\/p>\n
A two-time South Asian Games champion, Ashmita was unstoppable during the week, beating top seed Akechi Hina on her way to the title.<\/p>\n
Guwahati, incidentally, could have emerged as a hub of Indian badminton\u2019s revival in the mid-2000s had Krishna Dekaraja shown the same grit and resilience as her more famous peer Saina Nehwal, with both training under coach Pullela Gopichand. Tall and lanky Olympian Dipankar Bhattacharya was also a rising star on the men\u2019s circuit before his career fizzled out.<\/p>\n
Like her better-known predecessors, Ashmita could have disappeared from the scene after injury troubles struck. Two years ago, she tore a knee ligament in Korea and returned on crutches. The southpaw, whose game was studded with gems such as round-the-head strokes and deception, could have fizzled out too, much as Krishna\u2019s career tapered off.<\/p>\n
However, Ashmita persisted. Her reflex defence, quick-swinging arms that summon returns at a fast-forward clip and ability to grit it out have resurrected her career. She is now poised to break into the world\u2019s top 40 in the women\u2019s rankings for the first time and build from there.<\/p>\n
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