Nanjing 2014: Poles Apart but Indian Duo Together Jiangsu Province Capital

 

 

Now 11 Days Remain: Abhishek Yadav and Sutirtha Mukherjee form the Indian team for the forthcoming Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games; proceedings commence on Sunday 17th August.

 

Together in the capital of Jiangsu province in Eastern China but with regards to playing styles, they are as far apart as the North and South Poles.

 

Left handed, dynamic and exciting, Abhishek Yadav immediately catches the eye, there is an element of fluency about his play. Conversely, Sutirtha Mukherjee, right handed, exudes no flamboyant strokes; she remains close to the table, shows no hint of emotion and baffles her adversaries with the changes in spin created from her combination racket.

 

Arguably, Abhishek Yadav stands out from the crowd, the quiet and reserved Sutirtha Mukherjee is lost in the crowd.

 

Three Titles 

 

No frills, Sutirtha Mukherjee makes the most of her talents and when you consider their results on the ITTF Junior Circuit it is Sutirtha Mukherjee who stands out.

 

She has three Junior Girls’ Singles titles to her credit; in 2012, she won in Guatemala, the following year in the Slovak Republic, whilst earlier this year she succeeded on home soil in Goa at the Indian Junior and Cadet Open.

 

Furthermore, to claim the title in Goa she accounted for compatriot Ayikha Mukherjee in the final, the player who leads the ITTF Junior Circuit Girls’ Standings having won in the Slovak Republic and in Poland. In fact the defeat at the hands of Sutirtha Mukherjee is the only ITTF Junior Girls’ Singles reverse that Ayikha Mukherjee has suffered this year.

 

Elusive Step

 

Three titles; for Abhishek Yadav, the top step of the medal podium on the ITTF Junior Circuit is a platform that continues to prove elusive; the closest he has come is the silver medal position. 

 

In 2013 he was beaten in the final of the Junior Boys’ Singles event at the Indian Junior and Cadet Open in Mumbai by his compatriot Sudhanshu Grover.

Runner up, to some extent that sums up Abhishek Yadav; there is no question he harbours the talent; the next task is to find a way to cross the finishing line in first place. 

 

 

Five Appearances 

 

He threatens but as yet has not converted; his results on this year’s ITTF Junior Circuit tell the tale; five appearances and only once beyond the second round.

However, it should be stressed that twice he has lost to the eventual winner and on the other occasions against formidable opponents. Fortune has not always shone on Abhishek Yadav in 2013.

 

 

In India he reached the semi-final stage of the Junior Boys’ Singles event, losing to the champion elect, Thailand’s Padasak Tanviriyavechakul. On his next appearance in the Slovak Republic it was defeat in round two at the hands of the Czech Republic’s Stanislav Kucera; whilst in Poland Russia’s Danila Travin ended adventures in the opening round.

 

The European experience over, China was the next port of call; in both Taicang and Chengdu he experienced first round defeats. In the former the eventual winner, the host nation’s Zhang Bohan ended aspirations; in the latter, Korea’s very impressive Hwang Minha ended adventures.

Good Omen 

Defeats in Taicang and Chengdu but could Nanjing be a good omen?

 

At the Asian Games in 2013, very much a test event for the forthcoming Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games, Abhishek Yadav gave what was arguably one of the very best performances of his career.

 

He reached the semi-final stage of the Boys’ Singles event, eventually losing to China’s Fan Zhendong in a contest where at one stage he led by two games to one, before Fan Zhendong won three games in row to secure victory.

 

Asian Continental Qualification Tournament 

 

Happy memories of Nanjing and alongside Sutirtha Mukherjee, Abhishek Yadav has found memories of Bangkok; it was in Thailand’s capital city at the Asian Continental Qualification Tournament in early April that invitations to Nanjing were secured.

 

Sutirtha Mukherjee encountered few problems. She remained unbeaten to finish in first place in her group ahead of Malaysia’s Angeline An Qi Tang and Uzbekistan’s Regina Kim. 

 

A place in the second stage secured, she accounted for Lebanon’s Patricia Homsy before once again facing Angeline An Qi Tang in the deciding duel; confident from the earlier encounter, victory and a place in Nanjing was secured.

 

Two Defeats

 

However, seemingly true to his character, Abhishek Yadav made life interesting!

 

He finished in third place in his group behind Singapore’s Yin Jing Yan and Qatar’s Abdul Rahman Al-Naggar but ahead of Lebanon’s Mohamad Hamie, Phinith Kongphet of Laos and Cambodia’s Tola Soeung. Abhishek Yadav lost to both Yin Jing Yan and Abdul Rahman Al-Naggar.

 

Two groups in the first stage of proceedings, one with six players, the other with five; to the saving grace of Abhishek Yadav all 11 players advanced to the second phase.

 

It was at that stage he excelled; he beat Malaysia’s Leong Chee Feng and Yin Jing Yuan to secure his ticket to Nanjing. The win against Yin Jing Yuan reflected the fact that Abhishek Yadav is a talented player; earlier in the year Yin Jing Yuan had won the Junior Boys’ Singles title at the French Junior and Cadet Open and earlier in the Asian Continental Qualification Tournament, he had beaten Abhishek Yadav.

 

Currently Yin Jing Yuan is at no.7 on the ITTF Junior Circuit Standings; Abhishek Yadav is at no.30, the status belies his talents.

 

Star of India 

 

Abhishek Yadav shone in Bangkok; once again can he shine in Nanjing, can provide a gem of a performance, can he be the Star of India?

 

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