Letshanaa still has a long way to turn tide on top players, says Jonassen

Tough luck: K. Letshanaa in action against India’s P.V. Sindhu in the second round. — AP

PETALING JAYA: Progress has been made, but the road ahead remains long.

This is singles coaching director Kenneth Jonassen’s assessment of shuttler K. Letshanaa after losing to India’s P.V. Sindhu in the second round of women’s singles in the World Championships.

Debutant Letshanaa showed encouraging signs before losing 19-21, 15-21 to 2019 world champion Sindhu at the Adidas Arena in Port de la Chapelle in Paris on Wednesday.

The world No. 40 started brightly and even led 18-12 but Sindhu’s experience helped her mount a comeback and grab the win narrowly.

World No. 15 Sindhu, who turned 30 last month, might not be at the top of her game these days but she still remained a tough opponent.

Jonassen believed there were positives that can be taken from Letshanaa’s performance but acknowledged that the 22-year-old still had a long way to go to close the gap to the world’s top players.

“Letshanaa has shown improvement in terms of skills, shot quality and movement. We are working on her fitness as well,” said Jonassen.

“She now has the ability to push higher level players which is very encouraging to see. However, a final belief in one’s self is needed to overcome.

“We still have a long road but I can see progress.”

Letshanaa’s best showings so far this year came in the Taiwan Open in May and US Open in June where she made it into the last eight.

The performance in Taiwan was an important breakthrough for Letshanaa as it was her first quarter-finals in a World Tour Super 300 event.

In the world meet, the youngster believes she has gained valuable experience and is also happy that she had the opportunity to play against Sindhu, who is one of her idols.

“It’s very good exposure for me. She’s one of my idols and I’m very happy to get to play against her,” said Letshanaa.

“It was a good match. I rushed a little to finish the first game and that’s where I fell short. I had high chances to win but I should have been a bit calmer.”