Uber Cup: Isharani Baruah, with a jump smash in the Akane Yamaguchi mould, is pure joy to watch

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Isharani started with a comfortable straight sets win against Canada playing second singles in the Uber Cup where India has fielded a callow bunch of girls – not yet women – in the absence of PV Sindhu, who opted out.

But for Isharani, the crazyball who dives and bounces about the court with energy, a la Akane Yamaguchi, this Uber Cup might be the rare international top flight sighting of the jump smash – before it gets nuanced, tempered and disciplined. Though you hope it doesn’t altogether disappear.

Isharani Baruah in action at Guwahati Masters 2023

Ashmita Chaliha, the second Assamese, and slightly older, is also in possession of a wonderful jump smash. When it comes off, as it did against Michelle Li, the southpaw looks supremely ready for the big stage. But before and after the smash, Ashmita can blither away with her shot selection, court movements, defense and netplay.

Sindhu’s own hop smash that gave her the first Olympic medal when beating Nozomi Okuhara at the Rio semis, couldn’t gather momentum thereafter, wasn’t particularly needed either, and could’ve proven a liability with the stress it put her ankle under. It got safely tucked away.

But the two Assamese come blessed with very strong lower limbs, and a naturally aggressive intent. It is one thing to watch boys jump and smash and want to do it too, but quite another to have the sturdy legs to pull it off, the calf muscles and quads to give the elevation. Isharani’s childhood coach Bidyut Bikash Deori says she obviously didn’t start smashing from Day 1, but in Assam, with their pork-rich diet and natural strength, it wasn’t a surprise when the slightly built girl sought to fly and give the shuttle an early thwack.

Former Olympian Dipankar Bhattacharjee from Assam, is widely considered to have started the jump smash trend. But in women’s singles, the enigmatic Krishna Dekaraja, while she still competed just before Saina Nehwal arrived on the scene, can be said to have brought the power game and smashes into the WS mix. But even she didn’t jump, just naturally torqued her shoulder and back for the big hit. Ashmita and Isharani, having watched Yamaguchi do it so often, grew up playing the jump smash full-throttle.

Fantastic strength

Bidyut knew early on that Isharani’s game was akin to a boy’s in her pre-teens – it had fantastic strength and she was as deeply disinterested in getting serious in the sport, a far cry from the determined, disciplined young lady she now is, 10 years later. She was fit, and Bidyut could pile on the training load onto her, as she matched boys in hill running sessions. The jump smash grew slowly, and matured, as the small town coach gradually put her on specific plyometrics to accentuate the jump. But he concedes he wasn’t equipped to shape the jump smash into a standout weapon.

So, when Isharani decided to move south to Bangalore, the raw jump smash travelled with her. Though she’s quite tiny, in the Yamaguchi, Okuhara mould, Isharani has decent court coverage, and puts in a lot more dives than your average 19-year-old. Yamaguchi’s beautiful bent back, unreal jump smash, where she drags the shuttle from well behind her head with an arched form, will be the obvious inspiration. But Isharani will need to put in a lot of flexibility, agility and strength work, to hold onto her pet stroke.

Training under Umendra Rana now at Padukone academy, she has left behind her love for doubles, and gotten into disciplined drills, where Bidyut attests that even on Bihu vacations, she never misses training. Rana says she’s developed her strength, patience alongside net game and variety, stepping into the long rallies regularity of international badminton. In bigger halls, where shuttles get retrieved oftener than not, a solitary jump smash ceases to draw an ‘awww’, as the pendulum moves onto the next trick.

Still, Rana says at Bangalore they are keen to let her work on her jump smash and parallel game that she naturally excels at. Coaches aim at bringing consistency and accuracy to it. And the same jump is the lift-off for drops, clears and half smashes, as the domineering destroyer is taught to be clever, cunning and deceptive. The full-blooded no-wrist, all-forearm jump smash is adopted in a ‘less is more’ theatrical setting, kept as a surprise because jumps are energy consuming.

But all too often, Isharani forgets about these rules, and has some fun, like anyone in the age 18-21 would. She plays the jump smash, and hopes it hits the floor, and she’s not mopping up returns the next instant. It’s pure glee to watch. Isharani’s best quality might well be that she commits to defense or attack and then doesn’t look back, going all out. But such a game on the big stage needs immense endurance, and she’s not quite the finished product.

Yet, in the last six months, Isharani has grown a liking for falling back on leads, and coming from behind to wrap up set results. Recently at Kazakhstan where Anupama Upadhyaya won, Isharani beat Lo Sin Yan Happy of Hong Kong 15-21, 21-19, 26-24 after being 14-19 down in the second. She likes the endgame scuffles, and has the temperament to fearlessly overcome leads.

Yet, like Ashmita found out, the pursuit of winning and the sheer pace of the top level doesn’t permit women to set up a perfect jump smash, without being ready for a follow up. The flying, they pull off, but the landing is laden with worries of how to scramble next. Isharani’s had her share of ankle issues, and like a fast bowler in cricket going wild at 150, she will need to prop up her fitness in order to turn the jump smash into a scorcher. Akane Yamaguchi turned it into a signature shot. But it takes an almighty toll on the body. Watching Isharani fly though is too much fun, and the Uber Cup should offer a glimpse or many of the two Assamese Aviators with their Jump Smash jets, swishing past the court.