India’s chief national coach Pullela Gopichand praises his ward Hooda for beating badminton superstar PV Sindhu at China Open; wants teenager to live up to potential and deliver consistently on the biggest stage
Unnati Hooda during her quarter-final defeat to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi at the China Open in Changzhou on Friday. PIC/AFP
India’s promising shuttler Unnati Hooda, 17, lost in the quarter-finals of the China Open 16-21, 12-21 on Friday, but by beating compatriot and two-time Olympic Games medallist PV Sindhu in the pre-quarters, she has made the world sit up and take notice.
Hooda beat PV Sindhu 21-16, 19-21, 21-13 in a gripping three-game contest at Changzhou on Thursday to become only the fourth Indian women’s singles player to qualify for the quarter-finals of a Super 1000 event on the BWF Tour, joining Saina Nehwal, Sindhu and Malvika Bansod.
‘Feisty and strong’
Chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand, currently in the USA possibly on a personal visit, has been keenly following the progress of the Indian players in Changzhou. He was extremely satisfied in particular with young, rising star Hooda.
Pullela Gopichand
“I’m very happy to see the way Unnati has progressed over the last few years. She is a young player with a lot of energy. She is quite feisty on the court, and a runner — basically a strong girl. I expect her to do well in the future as well,” the former All-England champion told mid-day on Friday.
Speaking about her win over World No. 16 Sindhu, Hooda had said, “It was a really tough match. She [Sindhu] was giving her all. I gave it my all as well. I didn’t expect I would win. Winning against Sindhu is surprising for me too.”
Persistent attitude
Hooda’s persistent attitude that saw her beat Sindhu, is a quality Gopichand, 51, appreciated. When asked about the areas Hooda needs to improve in, he replied: “After you start winning a few [international] matches, you will have to start adapting to situations. The weaknesses [in the game] need to be ironed out. That will happen over time. At the moment, I think Unnati is quite good. For her to be consistent might take a bit of time, but that’s not a big concern.”
Hooda burst onto the international scene in 2022 when, at just 14, she claimed the Odisha Open title, becoming the youngest Indian ever to win a Super 100 BWF World Tour event. The youngster had a solid show in the Asia leg across May-June. She reached the semi-finals at the Taipei Open in May, before losing to World No. 6 Tomoka Miyazaki, who is arguably the highest-rated teenager on tour. Asked about his plans for Hooda this year and the events he would like to see his ward feature in, Gopichand said, “As far as tournaments are concerned, I would just like her to play the big ones. I want her to target big wins in big matches.”
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