Odisha`s Panda sisters _Rutaparna and Swetaparna _ fell at the first hurdles on their debut in womens doubles event of the prestigious All England Open Badminton Championship, losing to Japanese opponents Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi 9-21, 9-21 late last night in Birmingham, England. But the predictable loss turned out to be a gain in many respects as they created a bit of history with this big exposure and became richer by experience.

The loss was predictable because they lacked the experience of playing at such a huge stage. Their world rank of 51 was also much below compared to the opponents’ world rank of 13. According to their father and coach Ramachandra Panda, they were moving well on the court and exhibited good coordination. They could have won five more points in each game had they not committed too many unforced errors.

“Utilita Arena, the venue of the All England Open, is huge. Controlling the shuttle is difficult here because it drifts and swings due to the wind coming from the air conditioners. Being debutants Neha and Sneha (Rutaparna, Swetaparna) faced problems in controlling the shuttle and committed a number of unforced errors,’’ said Ramachandra.

If failure is the pillar of success, the Panda sisters, who became the first two women shuttlers from Odisha to compete at the All England Open, have definitely gained a lot from their first-round exit. Hope, they will be there again next year and perform much better.

Meanwhile, the sisters thanked their parents, the State Sports and Youth Services Department (DSYS), Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT) and the people of Odisha for their love, support and blessings.