Sayali Gokhale faced a tricky time at 17-19 down in the opening set of her Tata Open final against city and academy-mate Neha Pandit. But she racked up the next four points displaying the sort of mental strength she craved for as a youngster — but rarely possessed in her formative years — before winning 21-19 21-15 to pick up the all-India ranking tournament title — her second straight important win at the domestic level after the national title in March.

It should come in handy as she trains next month for August’s World Championships, where she’s India’s wildcard entrant, and will be gunning to look the part in the company of the world’s best shuttlers.

On Sunday against Pandit, Gokhale negotiated the quicker speed of the rallies at which the shuttle came at her from Pandit’s side of the court. Gokhale matched her opponent’s pace soon enough as she settled in to take the opener, and in effect the advantage of confidence. The second set saw Pandit wilting under the enormity of the task, as she went from aggressive to error-prone owing to impatience, and fell one stroke short in every rally.

There was little innovation on the court from both girls — more a safety-first approach that was effective, not necessarily pleasing to the eye. But Gokhale had the mettle to force the result in her favour. “There’s always lots of pressure now, since I’m expected to win every time after the national title,” Gokhale said later.

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