Malvika Bansod in action during her match against Aakarshi Kashyap at Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2022 at IG Stadium, Delhi on Friday. (File/BAI)
Malvika Bansod is a self-confessed bookworm. In a recent interview with The Indian Express, after her impressive quarterfinal run at the China Open that included a big win over Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, she had said: “I read Bhagavad Gita and travelogues and have recently started enjoying reading dictionaries.” At that point, she was still at “a”, but on Saturday in Saarbrucken, Germany you could file her semifinal win under “c” for clutch or “e” for excellent.
With a gritty, calculated, almost nerveless display of badminton, the 23-year-old reached the biggest final of her career as she defeated Julie Dawall Jakobsen 23-21, 21-18 in 44 minutes at the Hylo Open Super 300. As the shuttle sailed wide from the 8th-seeded Danish shuttler, Malvika let the moment sink in for a second and then fell down on the court on her back. Covering her eyes with her hands, she lay down there for a few more seconds before standing up with a wide smile and acknowledging her opponent.
She trailed by some distance in the opener but managed to come good in the endgame, holding her nerve at a crucial point in 19-19. In the second game, she was facing a resurgent Jakobsen, turning the tables on her and closing down a big gap to make it 17-17. But Malvika came through both situations with an impressive calm.
Malvika Bansod 🇮🇳 rivals Julie Dawall Jakobsen 🇩🇰 for a spot in the finals.#BWFWorldTour #HyloOpen2024 pic.twitter.com/YgZS7ZzeGe
— BWF (@bwfmedia) November 2, 2024
It has not always been easy on the international circuit for the Nagpur shuttler, with the flashy wins few and far between. The skill level was always there, as her win against Saina Nehwal at the 2022 India Open signified, drawing praise from the former world No 1. But on the back of her run at China Open, and now reaching the final in Saarbrucken, she is showing she can add consistency to her game as well.
On Sunday, she will face another Dane test when she takes on Mia Blichfeldt, former world No 11. Her only other final at this level was at the Syed Modi International in 2022, when she came through a fully Indian lineup before finishing second behind PV Sindhu.
Early in the semifinal, a few steep strokes from the tall, physically stronger Jakobsen saw her trail 2-5. At 4-9, Malvika showed the first signs of finding a solution to the power problem, as she tried a couple of acute angle flicks. Jakobsen continued to stay in front with a 11-6 lead in the mid-game interval, taking advantage of the Indian’s lack of control at that point. Malvika, however, closed the gap down to 11-13 on the back of a few errors on the trot from Jakobsen. The Indian drew level at 13-13 on a run of six straight points and took her first lead at 18-17.
She trailed by some distance in the opener but managed to come good in the endgame, holding her nerve at a crucial point in 19-19. (Credit: File/BAI)
The all-important rally at 19-19 was initially given in favour of Jakobsen, but Malvika used technology to turn the verdict as the Hawkeye showed that the Indian’s toss to the backcourt had caught the line. After the Dane saved the game point with her brute power, Malvika played a superb rally with her deft touches and did a little jump. A second game point too, however, was saved by Jakobsen’s smash. It would be third time lucky for Malvika, as she played a well-constructed point, drawing Jakobsen forward with a couple of tight net shots before inducing a crosscourt error.
It was a fine turnaround and she carried the momentum into the second game, continuing to take the pace off the shuttle every chance she got, and built up a superb 11-4 lead. With the finish line in sight, all she needed was to rein in the errors and continue covering for the occasional smash to either of the flanks from the Dane. The lead swelled to 15-7 with a cracking service return winner.
But her shot quality started dipping as it was Jakobsen’s turn to put together a string of points, making it 12-15. It seemed like the storyline of the opening game was being written in reverse when the Dane made it 17-17. But Malvika’s backhand drive — which had been working well all match — drew an error of judgment from Jakobsen. And just like that it was three match points for Malvika, and she converted her second.
Earlier in the day, Ayush Shetty’s campaign came to an end as he went down fighting against Christo Popov of France, 17-21, 13-21 in 49 minutes.
