Ishika Jaiswal not only sent everything back to Okuhara but also displayed the kind of stubbornness that the 2017 Japanese world champion is known for. New Delhi: Nozomi Okuhara may be in the twilight of her career, but even at this stage, picking her slices and drops requires special skill.
Having lost the first game, she fought back with patience, showing good defence and deceptive craft. Ishika is ranked 61st in the world, but her game showed that, at least on this day, she belonged in the top rung. It’s not for nothing that she considers Ratchanok Intanon her inspiration.
Okuhara was relieved to have come through a tough, close-to-an-hour-long round of 16 match at the BWF World Championships here. The 23-year-old was competing in her second World Championships and was proud of her feisty display against Okuhara, especially the way she fought back after losing the first game. Okuhara, who won 21-11, 13-21, 21-12, called her a “fighter.
“Definitely, it is the best I have played at this level because I don’t think we get that many opportunities to play against top players,” said Ishika.
Ishika picked up a racquet when she was 10 and based in California. Because of her father’s job, ishika was born in Alwar, Jaipur, but moved to the US early. She has been representing the United States. Badminton isn’t very popular in the US and perhaps the only big name from the country that comes to mind is Beiwen Zhang, the Chinese player who has made the US her home. “I have always been a runner, rally and consistency have always been kind of part of my game. I used to be an attacking player, but when I realised my smashes can’t kill, I developed my overall game. I was inspired by Saina Nehwal, when I started to play, but I really like Ratchanok and the skill she has. She trained under former Indian doubles player Shlok Ramchandran. Her father was a cricket fan, but her love was badminton.
“It’s been a difficult journey because we don’t have as many resources for a badminton player in the US as they do here, but we also get the advantage of figuring things out on our own, so it’s been hard but challenging,” Ishika told HT.
