India at Olympics: Jwala-Diju do not fire, run out of steam

By T S Sudhir Jwala Gutta and V Diju were everything their rivals from Denmark were not. Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhl exuded self-confidence in abundance, while Jwala and Diju had self-doubt written all over them. Perhaps the prospect of facing the 2009 World championship winners, who are seeded 8th at the London Olympics, had punctured their hopes even before the Indian duo stepped on court. Jwala and Diju, who lost their first match in the group on Saturday began erratically. The Danes were all fired up, using very effective smashes to deflate any chance of the Indian mixed doubles pair, retrieving the shuttle. The first game was a saga of weak, half-hearted returns, with their defensive play wilting in the face of relentless Danish aggression. Jwala and Diju lost 12-21. Strategies were revised in the second game, but perhaps a bit too late. The Indians decided offence was a better form of defence and managed to run the Danish duo close for most part of the game but finally, at 21-16, Laybourn and Juhl shut the Indians out of the match. And out of the London Olympics, for all practical purposes. Even a victory in the last match isn’t likely to earn them a place in the knockout stage. [caption id=“attachment_395705” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Jwala and Diju, who lost their first match in the group on Saturday began erratically. PTI[/caption] Shaking his head vigorously after watching the match in Hyderabad, former National coach Syed Mohammed Arif regretted that the two did not play their game. “Diju was completely lost and was playing soft strokes. In mixed doubles, it is the male player’s job to cover a larger part of the court, hit more smashes and allow his partner to go for the kill. But here Laybourn was putting Jwala in a spot at will,” he said. But while it is true that Diju looked out of sorts, Jwala too wasn’t in great touch, looking distinctly sluggish. Arif who coaches Jwala and Ashwini Ponnappa in women’s doubles, said, “Jwala is always like that in terms of movement. But her strokes are very deceptive and she is one of the best players at the net in the world.” Jwala and Ashwini still have a chance in the women’s doubles but wiser from the mixed doubles experience, Jwala will have to take on more responsibility as the senior partner. Both players have a powerful smash in their armoury and Jwala will have to create openings for Ashwini. The pair can take heart from their performance at the same Wembley Arena in August last year, when they won the bronze at the World championship, becoming the first Indian pair to do so. A revisit to the podium should be incentive enough for the Hyderabadi pair. T S Sudhir is the author of Saina Nehwal : An Inspirational Biography released in July 2012.