Renowned badminton champion Sayali Gokhale retains the top spot as she dominates the national badminton arena in the recent Tata Open. Gokhale’s monopoly of the local badminton scene was further strengthened with her victory over Neha Pandit in their match held in Mumbai. The game resulted in a nice finish, Gokhale winning in a 21-19 and 21-15 tally.
Sayali has been India’s prided badminton contenders since the badminton courts in the Cricket Club were renovated to accommodate serious players and formal badminton tournaments. Sayali caught the eye of the local badminton enthusiasts after she took home her second title at the national level earlier this year.
Sayali admits to have made many uncontrollable mistakes in her recent match. During the first game, she trailed behind Pandit in a 17-19 score. Sayali quickly picked up her stance and boosted the score to her favour while deliberately stopping Pandit through short smashes. Conquering the threat of the first match, Sayali gained enough confidence to breeze through the second match without fear.
Sayali showed the same enthusiasm in her match in the tournament held in the Tata Padukone Academy in Bangalore. This time, she was up against her training partner, whom she won over easily.
Sayali’s second national victory following the senior National match last February was instrumental in her performance in her subsequent games. For the World Championships, however, trainers and followers admit that Sayali is evidently one of the tournament’s wild cards. Sayali is set on training hard for the World Championships with the powerful roster of badminton champs she would be faced against. So far, Sayali’s record of defeated opponents includes Trupti Murgunde of Petroleum, whom she defeated in this year’s semi-final round, and Neha Pandit, who won against Aditi Mutatkar in the quarter finals. It will not be for long that the public will see for themselves the product of Sayali’s training.
