PLAYING an opponent 100 places above you for fifty minutes on India senior debut is a no mean feat. Placed at 110 in world ranking, Nagpur’s India shuttler Malvika Bansod engaged 10th placed in the BWF world ranking Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand ten minutes short of an hour before going down in straight games as India suffered a 1-4 loss to Thailand in their Group A opener of Sudirman Cup badminton Vantaa, Finland on Sunday. Exposed to top-tier badminton, left-handed Malvika gave a good display of her immense potential but lacked power and precision to trouble Pornpawee in the women’s singles.

 

The 20-year-old Indian lost the match 21-11, 21-14. The 23-year-old Pornpawee is a seasoned campaigner won her first World Tour title (Spain Masters) in 2020 by beating Olympic champion Carolina Marín in the final. In the last match, the combination of B Sai Praneeth and Tanisha Crasto lost 13-21, 11-21 to world No 3 pair of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai. India will play defending champions China on Monday before taking on hosts Finland in the world mixed team championships on Wednesday. India have reached the quarter-finals of the tournament twice — in 2011 and 2017.