India’s upcoming tennis star Karman Kaur Thandi’s dream to capture her second ITF singles title took a toll as she had to retire in the final match due to a muscle pull in the stomach. Karman, who was making a comeback after staying out of the court for 8 months due to a shoulder injury, was considered to be the favourite to win the title against Japan’s Chihiro Muramatsu.
It is believed that back-to-back matches exaggerated Karman’s injury as she never looked comfortable on the court from the word go. The Indian, who had played a marathon semi-final match against Australia’s Melanie Kelaffner, still looked tired and exhausted. In the quarterfinals, Karman had defeated India’s no-1, Ankita Raina.
In the match, Karman who was not 100% fit, struggled to play long rallies against the Japanese. Her struggle was clearly visible on the court as she lost the first set 1-6. Whereas, the Japanese took advantage of the shortcoming of the Indian, as her rapid moves and swift returns added to Karman’s sorrow.
In the second set, Karman looked to bounce back and fight as she broke the Muramatsu’s serve in the first game. However, karman’s joy was short-lived as the Japanese levelled the score in the next game. Karman, who by now was showing great determination to complete the game, felt immense pain and ultimately had to quit the match. Later, Muramatsu was declared the winner with a score of 6-1, 3-1.
After the match, a disheartened Karman said that it was disappointing for her to have to quit the game when she was in good form. She said that she had participated in the tournament with an aim to win the title. But it was unfortunate that could not happen. Karman added that it was better for her to back out of the match as stretching the game could have ended in aggravating the injury.
