Lucknow: An avid fan of Olympics medallists PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, young Unnati Hooda represents the next generation of women shuttlers in India. She follows Sindhu’s matches closely, and the trend continued at the ongoing Syed Modi International on Friday where the two-time Olympics medallist and former world champion Sindhu outplayed China’s Dai Wang in straight games 21-15, 21-17 in their quarter-final.
“Both Saina and Sindhu are my role models, and I wish to be like them in future, but at the same time, I would also like to be known as Unnati Hooda. I would like to better the achievements of Saina and Sindhu in future,” said Hooda after beating Indo-American shuttler Ishika Jaiswal 21-16, 21-9.
“I passionately follow Sindhu’s every game and today was no different. It’s not because I will be playing against her for the first time in the semi-final tomorrow (Saturday), but her playing style teaches me a lot and it helps me improve my game,” said Hooda who will also feature in the season-ending tournaments in Guwahati and Odisha next month.
Hooda is currently trained by her father Upkar at a badminton academy at Chhotu Ram Stadium in Rohtak, Haryana. “I do have several sparring partners, and I get trained by foreign coaches at least twice a year. Right now, I am focussed on my fitness as I feel physical strength is very important in the game of badminton.”
“I am excited about the match. There’s no pressure at all on me. I have to give my best and will play like a free bird. I have my own gameplan for the match, and will try to give me best,” added Hooda, the youngest Indian badminton player to win a Super 100 BWF World Tour title.
Hooda won her first BWF World Tour title at the 2022 Odisha Masters before winning the Abu Dhabi Masters in 2023, and she also stood runners-up at the India International in 2021 and 2023 before winning the other India International in the same year. In the junior circuit, she won a silver medal at the 2022 Badminton Asia Junior U17, and U15 Championships held in Nonthaburi, Thailand in the U17 singles event.
For Sindhu, it was easy going in the first game, but after the change of ends, she was stretched by her Chinese rival for a few tough points, especially at 15-17. But an experienced Sindhu stayed focussed on long rallies and calculative drops at the net to win in 48 minutes.
“Today I didn’t make the mistakes that I did yesterday. I didn’t give a chance to my rival and stayed focussed on my game plan. I haven’t thought about the semi-final against Unnati and I am happy that two Indians are in the semi-final,” said Sindhu after her match.
Top seeded in the men’s singles and the 2021 World Championship bronze medallist, Lakshya Sen also stormed into the semi-finals, defeating compatriot Meiraba Luwang Maisnam 21-8, 21-19. He will now take on Japan’s Shoga Ogawa, who defeated eighth-seed Ayush Shetty 21-12, 21-19.