It's Anup attack versus Abhinn defence

Jamshedpur, 5 February 05:
Brave Thomas Kurien. If only he had been less erratic, he might have gotten past his nemesis, Abhinn Shyam Gupta. As it turned out, however, Abinn rode a desperate challenge from Thomas to enter the men's singles final of the 69th National Badminton Championships on Saturday. Abhinn's search for his third title will find a big obstacle in Anup Sridhar, who powered past Utsav Misra with contemptuous ease.

The other big story was Saina Nehwal's upset of Trupti Murgunde, after saving a match point. A while later, she returned for the women's doubles with Aparna Balan and almost ambushed top seeds Jwala Gutta and Sruti Kurien in the semifinal. Saina will face Aparna Popat in the women's singles final. The men's doubles went as scheduled, with Sanave Thomas-Rupesh Kumar fixing a final date with Jaseel Ismail and V Diju.

Thomas Kurien was a shade below the class he displayed in his quarterfinal upset of Arvind Bhat. He was at times brilliant, at other times mediocre. Perhaps he had exhausted himself in that epic quarterfinal battle, and against an opponent as relentless as Abhinn, that would be fatal.

Thomas displayed his speed and smashing ability in patches; but would undo all the good work in the very next moment by hitting wide or into the net. And when Abhinn won the first game, so uncharacteristic of him, it seemed he had buried Thomas's hopes.

But he fought back bravely, getting a 8-4 lead in the second. A lapse in concentration followed, and Abhinn inched close at 8-10. Thomas broke with a tremendous jump smash from the back court, and led 12-8. He took the second game at 15-11, but the question on everyone's mind was: Did Thomas have enough reserve fuel to last the third?

He didn't look like, as Abhinn powered away to a 6-1 lead. Thomas fought right back, jumping and smashing relentlessly against an imperturbable Abhinn. He finally levelled at 6-all.

The most critical rally of the match came at this stage. Thomas had Abhinn twice at his mercy, with the shuttle at mid-court and Abhinn stranded. Thomas smashed with all his power, but Abhinn lunged left and right to return, kept the rally going, until Thomas was too exhausted to retrieve.

That rally seemed to effectively quell his challenge, as Abhinn raced ahead 12-6. Thomas gave everything to earn two more points, but Abhinn coasted clear to win 15-8.

Anup's match with Utsav was almost a no-contest as the taller man, with his great reach and smashing power, never allowed his opponent to settle. He made few mistakes at the net, kept Utsav guessing, and smashed whenever the opportunity came. Anup always kept marginally ahead, and even though Utsav levelled at 9-all, Anup looked in control. He won at 15-10, and ran away with an 8-0 lead in the second, before winning it 15-8.

Saina's match with Trupti matched Thomas's battle with Abhinn. Trupti, all elegance and sharp drops, was against Saina, hard-hitting and fast. Saina kept up her barrage of attack right through, reducing a 0-4 first game deficit to 6-all, 7-all and went ahead 9-7. Trupti was even making errors at the net, but got up to 8-9 when Saina, after a long rally, found the net with a cross court dribble with Trupti stranded.
Trupti finally won the game when Saina smashed out.

At 4-2 in the second, with Saina leading, ensued a tight war of attrition. The serve changed hands nine times, and Saina finally won a point when Trupti hit out. Saina earned game point when Trupti misjudged a high toss, and won the game with a cross court drop from the deep.

Saina looked to have stitched the match with a 5-1 lead in the third, but Trupti levelled at 6-all. A slew of errors from the younger girl followed, and Trupti held match point at 10-9. Saina attacked, and it was Trupti's turn to err. Two errors in a row hleped Saina come to 12-10, and she closed out with a tap at the net.

In the women's doubles, Saina and Aparna almost pulled it off against the top seeds, even winning the first game15-9. Saina was all over the place, attacking relentlessly, while Aparna controlled the net admirably. The two youngsters even levelled at 12-all in the second, but the top seeds pulled away and won 15-12. They then established a comfortable lead at 10-3 in the third, but another brave fightback enabled Saina and Aparna to close in at 10-12, and even 14-all. Another huge upset seemed on the cards. But again the top seeds showed their experience and got the next three points to win 17-14.

Scores: (All Semifinals):
Men's Singles: Anup Sridhar bt Utsav Misra 15-10 15-8; Abhinn Shyam Gupta bt Thomas Kurien 15-11 11-15 15-8
Women's Singles: Aparna Popat bt Jwala Gutta 11-3, 11-1; Saina Nehwal bt Trupti Murgunde 9-11 11-8 13-10
Women's Doubles: Jwala Gutta/ Sruti Kurien bt Saina Nehwal/ Aparna Balan 9-15 15-12 17-14; Krishna Deka/ Oli Deka bt Trupti Murgunde/ Fatima Nazreen 15-4 15-4
Men's Doubles: Sanave Thomas/ Rupesh Kumar bt Chetan Anand/ JBS Vidyadhar