Malvika Bansod is a self-confessed bookworm. In a recent interview with the Indian Express, after her impressive quarterfinal performance at the China Open that included a big win over Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung, she said: “I read the Bhagavad Gita and travelogues and just started enjoying reading dictionaries.” At the time, he was in “a”, but on Saturday in Saarbrucken, Germany you can put his semi-final win under “c” for clutch or “e” for best.
Displaying cool, calculated, almost fearless badminton, the 23-year-old reached the biggest final of her career as she defeated Julie Dawall Jakobsen 23-21, 21-18 in 44 minutes at the Hylo Open Super 300. shuttle off the 8th-seeded Danish shuttle, Malvika let the moment sink in for a second and fell onto the court on her back. Covering her eyes with her hands, she lay there for a few seconds before standing up with a big smile and acknowledgment to her opponent.
He trailed for some distance in the first place but managed to make it to the end, holding the nerve in the important place at 19-19. In the second game, he was facing Jakobsen who woke up, turned the tables on him and closed the big gap to 17-17. But Malvika faced both the situations with amazing calmness.
Malvika Bansod 🇮🇳 rivals Julie Dawall Jakobsen 🇩🇰 for a place in the finals.#BWFWorldTour #HyloOpen2024 pic.twitter.com/YgZS7ZzeGe
– BWF (@bwfmedia) November 2, 2024
It hasn’t always been easy on the international circuit for the Nagpur shuttler, with glittering wins few and far between. The level of skill was always there, as her win against Saina Nehwal at the 2022 India Open meant, being hailed as the world number one. But after his run at the China Open, and now reaching the final in Saarbrucken, showing he can add consistency to his game again.
On Sunday, she will face another test for Denmark when she faces former world number 11 Mia Blichfeldt. His only other final at this level was at the Syed Modi International in 2022, when he was out of the Indian line-up for the full time before finishing second behind PV. Sindhu.
At the start of the semi-final, a few strokes from the tall, physically strong Jakobsen saw him trail 2-5. At 4-9, Malvika showed the first signs of finding a solution to the power problem, as she tried a few tight angles. Jakobsen continued to hold an 11-6 lead midway through the match, taking advantage of India’s lack of control at that point. Malvika, however, closed the gap to 11-13 after a few mistakes on Jakobsen’s trot. India broke even at 13-13 with a run of six straight points and took their first lead at 18-17.
He trailed for some distance in the first place but managed to get to the finish line, holding the nerve in the important place at 19-19. (Credit: File/BAI)
The all-important rally at 19-19 initially went in Jakobsen’s favour, but Malvika used a technique to reverse the decision as Hawkeye showed that India’s backcourt hurling held the line. After the Dane saved a match point with her brutal power, Malvika played a great rally with her smart touch and a little jump. The second game point was also saved by Jakobsen’s strike. It would be third time lucky for Malvika, as she played a well-constructed point, pushing Jakobsen in front with a few strong shots before making a mistake.
It was a good change and he stepped up in the second game, continuing to push the pace every chance he got, once again taking an impressive 11-4 lead. With the finish line nearing, all he needed was to make up for the mistakes and continue to fend off another side crash from the Dane. The lead increased to 15-7 when the winner returned the break.
But his shooting rate started to decline as it was Jakobsen’s turn to score more points, making it 12-15. It seemed like the story of the opening game was being written backwards when the Dane made it 17-17. But Malvika’s backhand drive – which had been working well all game – drew a judgment error from Jakobsen. And so it was three game points for Malvika, and she converted the second time.
Earlier in the day, Ayush Shetty’s campaign came to an end as he lost against Christo Popov of France 17-21, 13-21 in 49 minutes.