Ayhika Mukherjee has had a topsy-turvy year. (Instagram)
From the high of beating World No. 1 Sun Yingsha in February to the low of being dropped from the Indian team for the Paris Olympics in July, India’s Ayhika Mukherjee has had a topsy-turvy year. Yet, it’s her unyielding will that has made her one of the most feared players in the world of table tennis.
At the Asian TT Championships on Tuesday, she proved yet again, that despite her lowly ranking of World No 92, she can never be counted out. As it turns out, she revels in playing against the best.
Against World No. 8 Shin Yubin in the opening tie of the quarterfinal against Korea, Ayhika knew that if India had to do the unthinkable and pull off an upset, she needed to win.
It was a nervy day for India too. Their match was supposed to be at 5 pm (local time) and it was only at 9 am that they received an email informing them that their match was brought forward to 12 noon. They scrambled and got ready just in time for the tie.
Mentally, nothing could disturb them. Ayhika’s focus was solid from the word go as she raced to an 11-9 win in the opening game. After losing the second and down 2-8 in the third, she remained unfazed. She met Yubin’s ferocious forehand attacks with her defensive backhand.
Instead of playing side-to-side, Ayhika varied the length, forcing Yubin to play a loose ball which she immediately punished.
It was her impregnable defence and quick transition into attack which stunned Yubin, who offered hardly any resistance in the final fifth game.
India needed Ayhika’s services again in the winner-takes-all final rubber against World No. 16 Jeon Jihee and this time, she did one better. After losing the first game, the 27-year-old roared back to win the contest 3-1 (7-11, 11-6, 12-10, 12-10) and seal the match for India.
There’s a lot of talk about the long-pimpled rubber used by Manika Batra and Sreeja Akula but opponents will want to study Ayhika’s anti-spin rubber too.
Her anti-spin rubber can be used to chop and paired with a thinner sponge, can even reverse incoming spin. The only drawback is that she has to be immaculately precise with her shots.
Ayhika’s coach Soumyadeep Roy tells The Indian Express that she was able to succeed because she managed to slow the game down well.
“When you play against an attacking player, it’s very difficult to slow the pace. But this was her main tactic and she was able to do that even in crucial points which is testament to the hard work she had put in over the last year, both mentally and physically.”
Speaking about her anti-spin rubber, Roy said: “It’s tough to use because you have to have great control over the ball. If you play it normally, it won’t slow down. You have to quickly gauge what spin your opponent is playing with.”
One of the reasons why Ayhika’s been so successful according to Roy is because she can vary her shots by using the same action.
“She can hit the ball with the same action, from the same height, but the opponent won’t know how the ball will spin or whether it will spin or not. It’s very difficult for the opponent to understand, which results in them making a mistake and giving her the opportunity to attack,” he said.
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