NAGPUR: The pressure of playing only her second BWF World Tour final took its toll on Malvika Bansod as the Nagpur shuttler went down fighting against seventh seed Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark in the Hylo Open Super 300 badminton tournament in Germany on Sunday.
Despite a good start against her experienced opponent, Malvika failed to handle the aggressive play by Blichfeldt after the break, losing the first game 10-21 in 15 minutes.
In the second game, Malvika looked in control of the proceedings and raced away to a handy three-point (11-8) cushion at the break. The timely break benefited Blichfeldt, enabling her to recover strength, and the 27-year-old launched an offensive with precise cross-court placements to level the scores at 12-12 before taking a 13-12 lead.
Though the 23-year-old Malvika played well to come close to levelling the score at 14-15, Blichfeldt utilised her height advantage well as the 34th ranked Indian shuttler went down fighting 15-21 in an exciting 43-minute women’s singles final.
Satisfied with her performance in Germany, Malvika said, “I am happy to win the silver, I would have been happier with the gold. Anyways, second game was the toughest for both the players. Overall, I am happy with the performance. I was able to control the rallies and I could see that she was getting a little tired between those rallies and I was able to take the lead. After the break she came up with a very very strong game, and it was difficult to manage in the end.”
Malvika added, “She is a tall athlete and she has got a good reach and good strength in her smashes as well. She has been on the tour for so many years, more than me, so she is rather experienced. But yes, I got a lot to learn from the match and am looking forward to many such good performances in the future. My second final gave me good confidence and I am looking forward to many more finals.”
Malvika made it to the final after a gap of two years, becoming the first Indian woman shuttler to reach the Hylo Open finals. In the 2022 Syed Modi Super Series 300 BWF World Tour event, Malvika had lost in the title clash to PV Sindhu.
The Paris 2024 Olympics semifinalist Lakshya Sen was the last Indian to win a title at the Hylo Open back in 2019.
