Draw is tough for Malvika Bansod but I am optimistic about good show, says coach Sanjay Mishra

The coach of Malvika Bansod, Sanjay Mishra is optimistic about his ward’s good show in the SaarLorLux Open Badminton tournament scheduled to begin from Tuesday in Germany.

The teenage city sensation is participating in the BWF World Tour Super 100 badminton tournament in the women’s singles category. The tourney will be held at Saarbrucken, Saarland, Germany from October 27 to November 1.

The ace city shuttler is in the bottom half of the draw of 32 players. Malvika is having a tough draw and it will certainly test her mettle.

“Malvika has a tough draw but it is expected in the world level competition. You don’t get easy opponents at the top level. She will be playing a higher ranked player in the first round. If Malvika manages to clear the first hurdle, she has an even tougher opponent in the second round,” said Mishra, who is also the junior national chief badminton coach.

Despite the difficult draw, Mishra is confident that Malvika will rise to the occasion and put up a strong performance.

“I am very optimistic about a good show by Malvika. She has the potential to perform at the top level. I am sure she will do well. Before traveling to Germany she trained with me in Raipur. She looked in fine touch,” said Mishra.

Southpaw Malvika will take on Kristin Kuuba of Estonia in the first round on Tuesday. It will be the first meeting between the two players on the world tour. Malvika, who is ranked 162 in the world, will have to play at her best to get the better of 23-year-old Kristin, who is ranked world No. 59.

Malvika’s father Dr Prabodh Bansod is accompanying her in Germany for the tournament, which is the last BWF meet of the year. Rio Olympics women’s singles champion Carolina Marin of Spain is the top seed of the tourney.

“Malvika’s parents wanted me to travel with her for the tournament. But I decided not to go because of some reasons. I was down with Covid-19 infection last month and was also hospitalized for a few days. I have now completely recovered. Traveling abroad is not easy in these challenging times of Coronavirus. One has to go through a lot of tests. I deliberately avoided traveling because it might have landed us in trouble. But once it gets over, I am planning to accompany her during major tournaments,” said Mishra, who runs a professional badminton academy in Raipur.

The Indian team members including Ajay Jayaram, Lakshya Sen and Subhankar Dey had a practice session at the venue on Monday.

Courtesy: orangecitysports.com