HYDERABAD: After
Saina Nehwal
and
PV Sindhu
did India get another 'Anmol'? A look at the recent performances of
Anmol Kharb
makes one believe that the 17-year-old from Faridabad is destined for bigger things in life.
With no formal training from the biggest academies in the country, the teen surprised many when she was crowned the national champion in women's singles.
By virtue of her good showing at the Nationals, she was picked as the third singles player for the
Badminton Asia Team Championships
. Anmol soon became the toast of the team when she pulled off a three-game victory against Wu Luo Yu and helped India to beat China.
That victory helped India to top the group and get an easy opponent in the form of Hong Kong in the quarterfinals.
Anmol was not required for that match as India won 3-0. But in the semifinals, Anmol eased past world No.29 Natsuki Nidaira as India shocked defending champions Japan.
When she came onto the court for the decider against Thailand in the final, many ruled the match in India's favour before it had started. Such was the confidence that Anmol had given to the entire squad with her attitude and talent. Such superlative performances in the deciders would excite many.
And
Pullela Gopichand
was no exception as he was seen smiling, cheering and vociferously encouraging Anmol from the courtside.
"Anmol is special. To actually play the deciding tie in a big rubber needs some guts. It just needs some amount of confidence. It shows what you are made of. She's done remarkably well on that front. She's been phenomenal. She played the right strokes and she had the greatest of attitudes," Gopichand said.
After winning the gold on Sunday, Anmol said she was not under any pressure.
"I am very tired now. But I am very happy that we have won the gold medal for the very first time. Me and my whole team are very happy to get the gold. There was no pressure on me because either it was gold or silver. But if it is gold it will be really a good thing for us. I was in full flow. I was very confident while playing," Anmol said.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who beat world No.10 Thais said that they are happy to give a point for India.
"It was a very important match for us because Thailand are very strong. It was a crucial match in this rubber and we are happy to give a point for India," Treesa said.
A day after losing her match, Sindhu was relieved to dominate her rival in the final.
"Today I gave my best and gave a point to my team. Though yesterday was one of my bad days, I am happy with my performance," Sindhu said.
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