Cushy win for Kashyap Youngster tramples No 11 Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam to top Group D; will meet Sri Lanka’s Niluka Karunaratne in Round of 16

Cushy win for Kashyap

Youngster tramples No 11 Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam to top Group D; will meet Sri Lanka’s Niluka Karunaratne in Round of 16

Life’s good for P Kashyap these days. For years, he has been yearning for consistency. The 25-year-old shuttler had been winning a big match once in a while, but never made it deep into a tournament. But things are changing now. For good, we hope. On Tuesday, the youngster provided further evidence of his new-found confidence and consistency by beating No 10 seed Vietnamese Tien Minh Nguyen in straight games. The impact of this 21-9 21-14 win on Kashyap’s confidence will be immense. No one expected him to win by such a big margin — neither he nor chief national coach P Gopichand. Kashyap, ranked 21 in the world, outplayed his higher-ranked rival (11th) in the final Group D match. Kashyap topped his group to qualify for the knockout stage, where he will meet Sri Lanka’s Niluka Karunaratne, who topped Group C. Kas-hyap set up points beautifully by opening the court and executed the winners with ease. In all, the Indian took 35 minutes to down his opponent and move to the next stage. “I was confident of winning but never thought it would be in straight games. Nguyen is a very good player so it came as a bit of surprise to me. But I played well, so I am satisfied,” he told DNA. Kashyap and Gopichand had been working at the latter’s academy in Hyderabad for quite some time now to polish his game and bring in more consistency. It was necessary, Gopichand said, for Kashyap to be strong and consistent in order to make an impact on big stages. “He’s been someone who’s not been consistent. He used to win one big match and then lose the next. So we worked a lot on his fitness and added a few new strokes in his game. This variation has helped. He now has the ability and the confidence to play big shots during big points.” Gopichand said. The Indian played aggressively right from the word go and never let his rival settle. The match featured long rallies with both the players playing some fierce flat shots but it was the Indian who scored points consistently. Minh tried to claw his way back in the second game but Kasyhap never let the momentum slip. He settled the issue with a cross-court smash to the left of his rival. “Overall, he looks solid in both defence and near net,” Gopichand said. “The margin was very comfortable, so yeah that’s a bit of a surprise. But he has been progressing well over the last few months.” Kashyap next opponent Karunaratne has been punching above his weight this season. But they have met once this year (Stockholm) and Kashyap emerged winner. Both he and Gopichand are confident of winning the next match. “It’s going to get tougher now. How he handles the pressure remains to be seen. He holds an edge over the Sri Lankan opponent. I don’t expect him to lose that match. They had played each other in January and Kashyap won that easily. But every match is different,” Gopichand said. If he wins, Kashyap is likely to face top seed and World No 1 Lee Chong Wei in the quarterfinal.