Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk showed nerves of steel to get the better of Mumbai Rockets trump Anders Antonsen in three games to help North Eastern Warriors register their first win in the fourth edition of the Premier Badminton League at the Gachibowli stadium in Hyderabad on Thursday.
The Warriors beat the Rockets 4-1 after winning the first three matches of the best-of-five tie. Sameer Verma and the men’s doubles pair of Kim Ji Jung and Lee Yong Dae won the last two matches for the Rockets but that wasn’t enough to beat the Warriors.
It was a much-needed win for the North Eastern Warriors, who had lost their opening tie against Ahmedabad Smash Masters 1-4. It was the mixed doubles combination of Liao Min Chun and Kim Ha Na who got them rolling.
Liao and Kim gave little opportunity to Kim Gi Jung and Pia Zebadiah of putting up a fight with a perfect game plan to win the first match 15-6, 15-13.
Tanongsak was then up against the Rockets’ trump with a chance to put his team on the road to victory. The Thailand shuttler began strongly and used his smash-tap routine to great effect against Antonsen to clinch the opening game.
However, the Dane changed tactics in the second and engaged his opponent in longer rallies. He forced the left-handed Tanongsak into committing unforced errors and took the match into a decider.
Antonsen looked more comfortable in the first half of the third game and changed ends with a one-point advantage. But this was when Tanongsak managed to change gears and found a way to break the Dane’s defence to win 15-9, 10-15, 15-11.
Former national champion Rituparna Das then wrapped up the tie for the North Eastern Warriors, but not before Shreyanshi Pardeshi gave a good fight.
Das, who had upset Kristy Gilmour in the Warriors’ first tie, was listed as the team’s trump and knew that she had to clinch the match to end any chance of a Rockets fightback.
Though she started strongly, Pardeshi fought back well, chasing every shuttle and forcing Das to go for some expansive shots to find a winner.
Pardeshi eventually pocketed the opening game but the experience of Das made the difference from the second game onward.
The 22-year-old used her supple wrists and better understanding of the conditions to win the match 12-15, 15-10, 15-12 and gave her team an unassailable 4-(-1) lead in the tie.
Sameer Verma then brought his team on the board by beating Tian Houwei 15-6, 15-13. Kim Ji Jung and Lee Yong Dae then got another point for the Rockets, as they defeated Chun and Yoo Yeon Seong 15-12, 13-15, 15-7 in the men’s doubles match. However, it was too little too late for the Rockets.