Assam shuttler Ashmita Chaliha came back from a game down to beat fourth seed Han Qian Xi of China in the Korea Masters final on Sunday, becoming the first Indian in history to win the competition.
The 26-year-old left-hander got the better of Han 14-21, 21-14, 21-14 in 53 minutes to clinch the biggest title of her career and join the exclusive club of Super 300 winners from India.
Ashmita, who trains at the National Centre of Excellence in Guwahati, joined the list on Sunday. While former world number one Saina Nehwal and former world champion PV Sindhu have won many titles at this level, Devika Sihag won the Thailand Masters in February and Tanvi Sharma clinched the Chinese Taipei Open crown last week.
“I feel really great and unbelievable.But then I am trying to digest it. Now, I am hungry for more,” said Ashmita after winning the Korea Masters crown.
The World number 50, who had packed off top seed Hina Akechi in the quarterfinals, began the final with a flourish and opened up a 9-5 lead before a flurry of errors saw her drop five straight points and conceded the advantage in the opening game.
But the Guwahati-born shuttler made amends in the next two games, showed patience to stay in the rallies and find the winners on crucial junctures to wrap up the final.
“In the first game, it was a little bit tricky because of the drift condition. So I was not able to manage it. But in the second, the other side was more comfortable and there was less drift. So I was able to control it. And in the third, after 11 points, I changed again. So, I was on the good side. I’m glad that I could pull it off,” she said.