“We’ve to get into big rallies and we’ve to be fit for that” - Simran-Ritika after suffering a defeat over Liu Shen-Tan Ning in Uber Cup 2024
The experienced badminton pair of Simran Singh and Ritika Thaker from Maharashtra stressed the importance of staying fit in order to play big rallies to stand a chance of making it big against senior Chinese players.
On April 30, Tuesday, Simran Singh and Ritika Thaker suffered a defeat over the senior Chinese Pair of Liu Sen and Tan Ning in the ongoing Uber Cup 2024 by 9-21 and 10-21. India suffered a 0-5 defeat over China in their third game of the campaign.
“We’ve to be very consistent playing against them. We don’t get easy points. We’ve to get into big rallies and we’ve to be fit for that. We’ve to be patient and accustomed to the atmosphere,” Simran-Ritika stated.
“We are not used to playing in fast courts” - Simran-Ritika
Furthermore, the Indian pair spoke about the dual nature of the court at Chengdu High-tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium in Chengdu, China. The court was very pacy on one end and on the other side, it was a little show, which turned out to be a bit challenging for Simran and Ritika.
“One side of the court is very fast and the other side is a little slow. We’re not used to playing in fast courts. We should know how to control the shuttle,” they went on to add.
It was a good match. They are really good players and we have given our best. We could have done well. It was a good experience playing against a top Chinese pair. We hope to do well next time,” they added.
In singles contests, Isharani Baruah, Anmol Kharb, and Tanvi Sharma suffered defeats, while in doubles, Priya-Shruti and Simran-Ritika faced losses over the strong Chinese shuttlers.
As of now, China and India are in the top two positions with three and two points respectively in the Group A tally. Both China and India have already secured their spots for the quarter-final.
On Saturday, India secured a win over Canada by 4-1 to take the second spot in Group A standings. On Sunday, they stunned Singapore by 4-1 to retain their second position and make it to the next round.