Unnati stuns Sindhu for biggest victory of career

Unnati Hooda, 17, has ‘grown up watching PV Sindhu ply her trade on the badminton court. Not only did she admire Sindhu’s game butalso aspired to play like the double Olympic medallist all her life.

- Sandip Sikdar

In 2022, the Rohtak shuttler got an opportunity to pick the former world champion’s brains when the two were part of India’s Uber Cup team. The self-confessed Sindhu fan had, back then, spoken about the learnings from playing alongside her idol while expressing her admiration for Sindhu’s “aggression and smashes.”

‘On Thursday, Unnati put those learnings to good effect as she used the same aggression and smashes to conjure the biggest win of her career, beating Sindhu 21:16, 19-21, 21-13 in 73 minutes to enter the women’s singles quarter-finals of the $2 million China Open in Changzhou.

“I didn't expect to win. I came thinking that I'll give it myall. The result was the last thing (on my mind). So, winning against her, it'sa surprise for me too. Butlam happy that I was able to win. It was really good win but tough,” said the teenager.