“I made too many errors” - Isharani Baruah after losing over defending Olympic champion Chen Yufei in Uber Cup 2024

India's 20-year-old shuttler Isharani Baruah was defeated by defending Olympic champion Chen Yufei in the women's singles event of the ongoing Uber Cup 2024. Team India faced their first defeat of the campaign against China, by 0-5, on April 30, Tuesday.

Unfortunately, India was without their most experienced player Ashmita Chaliha in the line-up. Isharani, on the other hand, faced a 12-21 10-21 defeat. Speaking after the game, Isharani Baruah displayed her disappointment and sounded confident of doing well the next time she plays.

“I was a little bit disappointed with my game as I made too many errors. I thought I would be playing well against her and unfortunately, it was an easy win for her. I will work hard next time,” Ishrani said after her encounter.

“The pace was very high to compete with her” - Isharani Baruah

Though Isharani Baruah had a good game time on the court, unfortunate mistakes in the middle led her to lose both games consecutively. She stressed the importance of playing longer rallies against experienced players to secure victory.

The court at Chengdu High-tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium in Chengdu, China turned out to be a nightmare for Indian young shuttlers. Interestingly, on one side the court offered a lot of pace, and on the other side was a little show, that challenged the Indian players.

“I was hitting well but I made too many mistakes. If I had played a longer rally, I would have done well. I was really looking forward to playing against her. The pace was very high to compete with her,” she added.

“Her drops and variation of strokes were not comfortable for me. She doesn’t make silly mistakes at all. It was a tough game. It was a good experience. If I get a chance to play against her again, I will surely do well,” she concluded.

Currently, China and India occupy the top two positions with three and two points respectively. It’s important to note that the top two teams from all four groups will move to the quarter-final. Interestingly, India has already sealed a spot in the quarter-final.

On Saturday, India defeated Canada by 4-1 to secure the second spot in the Group A tally. On Sunday, they continued their good run, defeating Singapore by 4-1 to consolidate their second rank and further qualify for the quarter-final.