badminton mania

GUTS, Issue 3

2008-08-19T09:18:00.001-07:00

Get your own - Open publication

GUTS, Issue 2

2008-08-19T09:16:00.000-07:00

Get your own - Open publication

GUTS, Issue 1

2008-08-19T09:15:00.000-07:00

Get your own - Open publication

2008-08-03T08:13:00.000-07:00

Get your own - Open publication

Aditi, Kashyap emerge champs

2007-12-13T02:05:00.000-08:00

Finals:
Women's Single
Aditi Mutatkar (Mah) bt Trupti Murgunde (PET) 19-21,21-10,21-15
Men's Singles
Kashyap P (AP) bt Anand Pawar(AI) 16-21,21-19,21-15
Men's Doubles
Sanave Thomas/ Rupesh Kumar (Ker) Akshay Dewalkar/ Diju. V (AI/ Ker)21-19,22-24,21-11

It's Kashyap vs Anand Pawar

2007-12-11T06:32:00.000-08:00

Bangalore: The top seeds at the Canara Bank All India tournament progressed into the finals, with Aditi Mutatkar setting up a showdown with Trupti Murgunde, and Kashyap and Anand Pawar doing likewise in the men's singles.
Aparna Balan and Jyothsna won the women's doubles title, beating Ruth Misha and Soumya Padhye.
Results:
Women's Singles (SEMIFINALS)
Trupti Murgunde bt Gayatri Vartak 21-17,21-8; Aditi Mutatkar bt Ashwini Ponnappa 21-12,21-16
Men's Singles (SEMIFINALS)
Kashyap P bt Jishnu Sanyal 18-21,21-8,21-13; Anand Pawar bt Sagar Chopda 21-16,21-14

Women's Doubles (FINALS)
Aparna Balan/ Jyothsna bt Saumya Padhye/ Ruth Misha 21-18,21-15

Men's Doubles (SEMI-FINALS)
Sanave Thomas/ Rupesh Kumar bt Ram C Vijay/Utsav Mishra W/O
Akshay Dewalkar/ Diju V Jayan James/Dinesh T 21-16,17-21,21-13

Aditi, Trupti in semis

2007-12-10T07:52:00.000-08:00

Bangalore: Trainees of the Padukone Academy have had an excellent tournament so far (Canara Bank All India Senior Ranking), with all four women's semifinal spots. Two of the four men's semis places have also been booked by Academy trainees.
The best match on Monday morning in the women's was Ashwini Ponnappa's three-game upset of BR Meenakshi 21-16,11-21,24-22; in the men's, V Amar gave Sachin Ratti a tough time but lost 21-19,18-21,21-18; both in the pre-quarters.

Women's Singles (QUARTERFINALS)
119 Trupti Murgunde PET Ruth Misha KTK "21-17,21-10"
120 Gayatri Vartak MAH Aparna Balan KER "21-11,21-19"
121 Ashwini Ponnappa KTK Dhanya Nair RLY "21-13,18-21,21-13"
122 Aditi Mutatkar MAH Sampada Sahasrabudde MAH "21-10,21-16"

Men's Singles (QUARTERFINALS)
57 Kashyap.P AP Gurusai Dutt.R.M.V. AP "21-17,21-19"
58 Jishnu Sanyal AI Sachin Ratti RLY "21-15,14-21,21-11"
59 Sagar Chopda MAH Ravindra Singh UP "26-24,21-16"
60 Anand Pawar AI Utsav Mishra AI "21-19,21-10"

Women's Doubles (SEMIFINALS)
136 Aparna Balan/ Jyothsna KER/ AP Anita Ohlan/ Dhanya Nair RLY "21-18,21-19"
137 Saumya Padhye/ Ruth Misha KTK Deepthi Shalini/ Deepthi Priyadarshini AP "15-21,21-19,21-11
Men's Doubles (QUARTERFINALS)
88 Sanave Thomas/ Rupesh Kumar KER Kiran Kumar.B/ Tanishak. K AP "21-16,21-13"
89 Ram.C.Vijay/Utsav Mishra KER/ AI Tanveer Gill/ Krishna. S.D.S DLI/ KTK "21-18,30-28"
90 Jayan James/ Dinesh.T AP Arjun Prasad/ Hersen. K.S KER "21-14,21-12"
91 Akshay Dewalkar/ Diju. V AI/ KER Jaseel.P.Ismail/ Jose George KER/ KTK "21-12,21-19"

Gayatri reaches Welsh semis

2007-12-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

4 Dec 07
ACADEMY trainee Gayatri Vartak notched up her best performance in international Badminton reaching the semifinals of the Welsh International 2007 in Cardiff. In the semis, Gayatri lost to the eventual winner and world no. 53 Gill Pittard of England 16-21,9-21. On the way to the semis, Gayatri beat Munn Tzin Bong of England 21-16,21-10; Chioe Magee (Ireland) 23-21,21-12 and Atu Rosalina Sagita (Indonesia) in the quarters 21-18,15-21,21-15.
Gayatri, who is currently ranked 174 in the world, is sure to improve her ranking by a good margin when the new rankings are released on December 6. Gayatri, along with academy-mate Aditi Mutatkar, was training under British coach Tom John in London prior to participating in the European circuit tournaments.

Hong Kong Open goes China's way

2007-12-03T03:41:00.001-08:00

2 Dec 07: Indonesia took two gold and China three at the Hong Kong Open -- Nova Widianto/ Lilyana Natsir and Markis Kido/ Hendra Setiawan getting atop the winners' podium. Good news for Indonesia as the Olympic race hots up.
There must have been some pressure on Lin Dan, but the champ came through in style against Chong Wei in three sets.
Final results :
WS : Xie Xingfang (CHN) beat Zhu Lin (CHN) : 21/19 – 21/14
MxD : Widianto/Natsir (INA) Vs Zheng/Gao (CHN) : 23/21 – 21/18 – 21/19
MS : Lin Dan (CHN) beat Lee Chong Wei (MAL) : 9/21 – 21/15 – 21/15
WD : Du/Yu (CHN) beat Zhang /Wei (CHN) : 22/20 – 13/21 – 21/17
MD : Kido/Setiawan (INA)beat Gunawan/Wijaya (USA/INA) : 21/12 – 18/21 – 21/13

A letter... that won't make a difference

2007-12-02T23:25:00.000-08:00

This is a letter addressed to LC Gupta, Secretary of Badminton Association of India. The letter has been sent by NC Sudhir, Secretary of the Karnataka association, before the BAI's Annual General Body meeting on Dec 8. I don't expect the AGM to be any different from its past versions. Officials who have been clinging to their posts for the last decade or two will continue; dissidents won't raise their voice; and Indian badminton will continue to be hounded. This letter is remarkable because it raised the issue of age-group violations. Several of India's so-called junior champions are really five or six years older than they claim they are; in fact, some have even submitted three or four different certificates. Andhra Pradesh's Sikki Reddy, a protege of national chief coach P Gopichand, is a proven culprit. She has already started representing the national team...
At a recent junior tournament in Dehra Dun, several coaches and parents protested the rampant age-group violations. Senior coach Roshan Lal Nahar staged a fast and forced the organisers to conduct tests. The tests proved that nearly 40 contestants were illegally participating. National coach Gopichand's home state Andhra has a terrible record -- around 37 violations were reported!
I don't expect this letter to make any difference because the senile LC Gupta will brush it off and the other officials will only be too happy to play along. Nevertheless, full credit to Sudhir and others in the KBA.

Shri L C Gupta
Hon Secretary
Badminton Association of India

Sir,

Sub: AGM Agenda

We are in receipt of your meeting notice. I will be attending the meeting on 5th December as informed and will be reaching Guwahati on the 4th Morning.

1. Calendar of events: As regard to planning the forthcoming tournament season, we are of the opinion that Badminton Association of India should have a vibrant domestic circuit. In the last one and a half years we have observed that after senior national championships in January there is no tournament scheduled for the next 11 months for seniors and then in December and January all tournaments are scheduled for seniors prior to the nationals. This sort of scheduling is very taxing for the players and in the process players tend to miss out on certain tournaments resulting in organizers losing face and sponsors backing off from supporting tournaments. As you agree, some top players get to play international tournaments, but many others need to play tournaments during the season and the best way for that is to have national ranking tournaments spread out during the calendar year. This will help the next line of players to come up and I have taken the expert opinion of Mr. Prakash Padukone and Mr. Vimal Kumar and they vouch for the above suggestion.

Last year we had requested to conduct a team championship event on the Sudirman Cup format for the top 8 states. In fact it was given the approval but no dates were allotted for this event. This event is very important considering our preparations and the format involved for the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The top 8 state can field a maximum of 8 players / state which include 4 Men and 4 Women along with 2 officials. The state must ensure that players residing in the state alone can represent that state. This can generate tremendous media attention and interest among the states. The winning state team will be given Rs.1 Lakh as prize money and the runner-up Rs.50,000/- . The duration of the tournament will be 4 days. The boarding and lodging and 3 tier A/c travel charges will be borne by the host association of all the participating teams. We are prepared to do this event on a regular basis for the next 3 years.

To make Badminton Association of India’s calendar of events for the next season more vibrant, our association is prepared to conduct the following events during the months given below: -

Date Tournament Prize Money Category
1.June ’08 UBI All India Junior Ranking Tournament 3 Lakhs U-13, U-16,
U-19
2.July ’08 TATA Open Senior Tournament 5 Lakhs Men & Women
3.September ’08 Inter State (Sudirman Cup Format)
4.December ’08 TATA Open Senior Tournament 5 Lakhs Men & Women
5.January ’08 Canara Bank Senior Tournament 5 Lakhs Men & Women

We are also prepared to take up the Junior or Senior Nationals of 2008. We would appreciate if we are allotted the Senior National Championships.

2. OVERAGED PLAYERS:

We are very concerned about the recent happenings in Dehra Dun during the sub-junior national championships related to overaged players. We have clear evidence in the form of the certificates in our records of certain players with different age certificates submitted for junior tournaments over the years. The sad part is some of these players have gone on to win the national sub-junior titles in Dehra Dun. It is a shame that BAI has failed to initiate action against these players who have produced two to three different birth certificates. In fact our coach and manager complained that they were not given the result of the medical tests conducted on certain players in Dehra Dun.

We suggest that an independent medical board test all players who won the sub-junior national title in Dehra Dun in a very transparent manner immediately. The credibility of BAI is at stake here and the best punishment for the offenders can be barring them from playing in any age category events in future. BAI need not have to worry about the consequences and these norms can be incorporated in the BAI by laws. Catching a culprit when there is clear evidence will never go against the BAI. All that BAI need to show is some firmness in dealing with this problem and we are sure that all state units will stand firmly behind BAI in dealing with this age old problem.

We request BAI to take the above suggestions in the right spirit. Look forward to meeting you in Guwahati next week.

Yours sincerely,
Sudhir N C
Hon Secretary
Karnataka Badminton Association

Anand Pawar bows out in Scottish semis

2007-12-02T23:18:00.000-08:00

26 Nov 07
ANAND PAWAR'S fine run at the Scottish Open came to an end when he was beaten in the semifinals by promising Japanese youngster Kenichi Tago in a thrilling three-setter 21-12, 9-21, 19-21. Anand, having won the first game comfortably at 21-12 could not sustain the pace and lost the second game 9-21. In the decider Anand led 19-17 but the Japanese won the next four points and the match at 21-19.

The Japanese then went on to win the title beating German No.1 Bjoern Joppien in the final 21-11,15-21,18-21.

Anand Pawar along with Aditi Mutatkar will now return to India to compete in the Indian Satellite event to be held in Guwahati from December 1.

Anand Pawar progresses at Scottish

2007-12-02T23:14:00.000-08:00

24 Nov 07

ANAND PAWAR (21) has moved into the quarterfinals of the Scottish Open Badminton Championships in progress at Glasgow. Anand in his opening round upset rising Danish star Jan O Jorgensen in straight games (21-14, 23-21) and followed that up with straight games wins over Scott Evans (Ireland no.1 and world no.45) 21-14, 21-18 and French No.1 Erwin Kehlhoffner (21-13, 21-19). Anand on Saturday will play Andrea Dabaka, the top Canadian in the quarterfinals.

Anand Pawar, a trainee of the Padukone Academy, has been training in Aarhus, Denmark, for the past two months under Danish great Morten Frost. The academy has sent Anup Sridhar and Anand Pawar to train under Morten and also play the European tournaments during October/November. Anup Sridhar had to cut short his training programme and return to India due to a heel injury.

In the women’s singles, Aditi Mutatkar made good progress beating Jill Pittard of England 22-20, 21-11 before losing to Japanese player Kanako Yonekura 16-21,18-21 in the pre-quarterfinals.

Canara Bank All India tournament

2007-12-02T23:13:00.000-08:00

PRESS RELEASE
21 Nov 2007

THE new national senior badminton circuit gets underway at Bangalore in the second week of December with the Third Canara Bank All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament. This event will be played at the K Raheja Badminton Stadium in Bangalore between December 8 and 12. The total prize money on offer will be Rs.5 lakh. Qualifying rounds will be played on December 8 and the tournament proper from the next day. In all there will be four events -- men’s and women’s singles and doubles (no mixed doubles). The winner of the men’s singles is likely to get around Rs.1 lakh as prize money. This event is likely to attract all the top players of the country as the performance will be considered for selection of Indian team for the Thomas/Uber cup and the European circuit to be held during February/March 2008. This event will be held under the aegis of Karnataka Badminton Association and is being coordinated by Padukone Sports Management. While Canara Bank will be the main sponsor, HDFC Mutual Fund and Yonex will be the co-sponsors.

Plenty to do

2007-11-17T02:58:00.000-08:00

When I first started Badminton Mania, I wanted it to be a window into Indian badminton. There were times when I felt a missionary zeal to update stuff; but more often the site has gone long stints without any updates. One of the reasons has been the number of technical problems that kept cropping up and stalling me.
This blog was meant to provide updates at tournaments, etc, where I would find it hard to maintain a regular website. I'm still at a loss to know what the correct balance should be.
On the positive site, Thomas Kunnath and I brought out a newsletter on Indian badminton called 'Guts'. It's a four-page affair with interviews, profiles, etc. The second edition is ready. Let's see how far we can carry it.
How will this blog evolve? How will Badminton Mania evolve? I have several ideas, most of which have only remained in my head. Will it be a personal journey into badminton country? Will it carry tournament results and features? I haven't decided yet.
I just hope to keep updating.

Heartbreak for Malaysia

2006-05-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

Tokyo, 5 May: It was heartbreak for Malaysia as Denmark pulled off the last rubber of their semifinal tie to run into China for the Thomas Cup. China, meanwhile, thrashed Indonesia in their semifinal and look well set to take both the Thomas and Uber Cup.

Malaysia, who were reckoned to be the most potent threat to China during their run-up to the semis, missed the services of the injured Wong Choon Hann, and Denmark made that count as Joachim Persson won the fifth match against Kuan Beng Hong.

The hero of Denmark's win, was however Peter Gade, who scored a remarkable win over world No.2 Lee Chong Wei, who was looking almost unbeatable in the last few months. Gade's win took the wind out of Malaysia's sails, and they trailed right through.

Keat and Chan equalised the tie for Malaysia, beating Hansen and Eriksen 30-28 in the second and 21-6 in the third. Kenneth Jonassen then scored another big point, downing Hafiz Hashim in three tight games. Choong and Lee Wan Wah restored parity in the doubles, over Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen, and it was finally down to the last match. Last year's ABC finalist Kuan was expected to win the tie for his country, but faltered against Persson.

Meanwhile, the biggest story in the other semifinal was Lin Dan's hammering of Taufik Hidayat. Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng escaped a tight first game against Alven and Luluk, and Bao Chunlai nailed home the last point over Sony DK.

For complete scores click here.

India fail to make the grade

2006-05-03T00:04:00.000-07:00

2 May '06
Tokyo: Denmark eased into the semifinals of the Thomas Cup, giving no quarter to India in a ruthless 3-0 finish.
A youthful Indian team could not even take a game off the European champions.
Meanwhile, China strolled into the last four and await the winners of the quarterfinal between Indonesia and Japan.

Peter Gade set things up with a comfortable 14 and 8 demolition of Chetan Anand. Kenneth Jonassen followed suit with a 11 and 12 result over Anup Sridhar, while the doubles pair of Eriksen and Hansen were briefly troubled in the second game by Diju and Rupesh Kumar, but sealed their side's win with a 14 and 19 result.

The Uber Cup saw a big upset, with Germany pulling off a 3-2 result over Hong Kong China. Although world No.3 Wang Chen put Hong Kong ahead with a three-game win over European champion Xu Huaiwen, the second and third singles let Hong Kong down.

However, China had no problems against Singapore, whipping them 3-0, with Zhang Ning opening the tie with a 18 and 18 result over Li Li.

India in last eight

2006-05-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

1 May '06
Sendai: Anup Sridhar upset world No. 33 John Moody as India whitewashed New Zeland 3-0 to storm into the quarterfinals of the World badminton men’s team championship for the Thomas Cup here on Monday.

India, missing its number one shuttler Chetan Anand to injury, sealed the victory in an emphatic fashion with Sridhar, Arvind Bhat, and Nikhil Kanetkar winning the three singles matches in the five-match pre-quarterfinal tie.

The two inconsequential doubles matches were not played. India now take on Denmark, who reached the last eight stage after topping group C, for a place in the quarterfinals to be played in Tokyo from Wednesday.

National champion Sridhar, ranked 64, provided a perfect start for India with a 21-15, 21-9 mauling of Moody in the first singles in just 26 minutes, to take revenge for his loss to Moody at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

Bhat then tamed newcomer Henry Tam 21-17, 21-5 to give a 2-0 lead to India.

Kanetkar, who replaced Anand and was playing in his first match of the championship, faced stiff challengefrom Craig Cooper but pushed his game one notch up in the final game for 21-13, 18-21, 21-10 victory in 40 minutes. PTI

India hold off German challenge

2006-04-30T08:25:00.000-07:00

29 April 2006 (Read Raphael Sachetat's report)
Sendai (Japan): Rupesh Kumar and V Diju raised their game when it mattered most and won the last doubles tie as India overcame a gritty Germany 3-2 to move into the pre-quarterfinals of the Thomas Cup on Saturday.

India take on New Zealand in the pre-quarterfinals on Monday. The Kiwis finished at the bottom of Group B after losing both their league matches to Korea and Indonesia.

India began on the wrong note with World No. 24 Chetan Anand not in his elements against Bjoern Joppien and as the German tamed him 21-17, 21-12 and India had the worst possible start.

In the second match, Anup Sridhar too was stretched in the first game even though he snatched it from Conrad Hueckstaedt.

The German, however, soon returned to the win the second game. Anup finally went on to win the third game and the match 22-20, 14-21, 21-6.

Arvind Bhat, despite dropping the second game, kept the momentum going and his 21-14, 17-21, 21-16 win against Roman Spitko saw India snatching the lead with two doubles matches to go.

Thomas Kurien and Jaseel Ismail, however, forfeited the advantage as they tamely went down to Kristof Hopp and Ingo Kindervater 9-21, 16-21 and the Germans were back in contention at 2-2.

In the decider, Rupesh Kumar and V Diju kept their cool and never allowed any leeway to the German rivals Michael Fuchs and Spitko as they chalked out a straight game win 21-18, 21-12.
Indian coach Vimal Kumar gave credit to the singles winners but said Spitko was not at his best which helped his team to an extent.

The results: India beat Germany 3-2 (Chetan Anand lost to Bjoern Joppien 17-21, 12-21; Anup Sridhar beat Conrad Hueckstaedt 22-20, 14-21, 21-6; Aravind Bhat beat Roman Spitko 21-14, 17-21, 21-16; Thomas Kurien-Jaseel Ismail lost to Kristof Hopp-Ingo Kindervater 9-21, 16-21; Rupesh Kumar-V Diju beat Michael Fuchs-Roman Spitko 21-18, 21-12).

China whitewash India

2006-04-29T04:19:00.000-07:00

28 April 2006
Sendai (Japan): Chetan Anand's brave fight against the World No 1 was the the only highlight for India who were thrashed 0-5 by defending champions China in their first league match of Thomas Cup badminton finals here on Friday.

Anand, ranked 24, gave a scare to Lin Dan as he snatched the second game but the champion
finally emerged unscathed 21-8, 21-23, 21-11 to win the first match of the tie.

From thereafter, it was a one-sided affair as China gave no further room to India and
stamped their supermacy, routing other players in straight games.

The doubles combination of Rupesh Kumar and V Diju went down 5-21, 16-21 to Fu Haifeng
and Cai Yun in the second match.

World no 9 Chen Jin got the better of national champion Anup Sridhar 21-14, 21-10 to seal the
tie in China's favour.

The scratch doubles combine of Thomas Kurien and Jaseel Ismail lost 6-21, 10-21 to Bo
Zhang and Guo Zhendeng in the inconsequential match.

Arvind Bhat went down 15-21, 10-21 in the last singles to Xia Xuanze.

India, who last qualified for the world team badminton Championship in 2000, would next
play Germany in their last league match on Saturday. Beating Germany would be the key for
India to reach the knock-out stage.

The results: Thomas Cup: Group A: China bt India 5-0 (Lin Dan bt Chetan Anand 21-8, 21-23, 21-11; Fu Haifeng/Cai Yun bt Rupesh Kumar/Diju V 21-5, 21-16; Chen Jin bt Anup Sridhar 21-14, 21-10; Zheng Bo/Guo Zhendong bt Thomas Kurian/Jaseel P. Ismail 21-6, 21-10; Xia Zuanze bt Arvind Bhat 21-15, 21-10).

Malaysia win Asian Zone title

2006-02-19T07:42:00.000-08:00

Dev S Sukumar

Jaipur, 19 February: China had better beware. Malaysia is going to be a handful at the Thomas Cup finals in Japan later this year.

In an engrossing Asian Zone final here on Sunday, a youthful Malaysian contingent pulled off a win over South Korea to affirm themselves as the hottest competitors to holders China.

Misbun Sidek, Malaysia’s most famous badminton name, is staking out the territory, and he has China in his sights. Even before the final started, Misbun let it be known that he was grooming three players – Hafiz Hashim, Lee Chong Wei and Kuan Beng Hong – in different styles to counter the current international trend of all-round play. “I think we have a good chance against China for the Thomas Cup,” he said with quiet confidence.

The evidence was out against Korea. Lee Chong Wei destroyed All England runner-up Lee Hyun Il, Hafiz Hashim played a magnificent match against Park Sung Hwan, and Kuan Beng Hong clinched the title for them after both Malaysian doubles teams faltered.

The match of the tournament was Hafiz against Park. Having seen the first doubles go to Korea, Hafiz treated the crowd to a spectacular exhibition of badminton; his peculiar flicks at the net and graceful movement around the court giving glimpses of the talent that won him an All England title.

Park, though, pulled off a tight first game, as got sluggish towards the end. It looked like an easy second game for the Korean.

But Hafiz somehow kept apace, his trickery at the net catching the Korean time and again. It was finally down to the third game, and Hafiz rocketed ahead 13-2 as the exhausted Korean made error after error. A 21-7 final game gave the Malaysians a 2-1 lead, after which the Koreans equalized in the second doubles. It was finally left to the explosive Kuan Beng Hong, who reached the final of the Asian Badminton Confederation championships in Hyderabad last September, to finish off things for the Malaysians.

Earlier, India fell to Indonesia for the third place playoff, but Indian No.2 Arvind Bhat created a sensation by nailing Simon Santoso in straight games.

Placings: Thomas Cup: 1-Malaysia 2-Korea 3-Indonesia 4-India
Uber Cup: 1-Korea 2-Chinese Taipei 3-Singapore 4-Hong Kong

Anup fails to pull the plug

2006-02-18T05:54:00.000-08:00

Dev S Sukumar

Jaipur, February 18: As Anup Sridhar stepped up to serve match point at 24-23, second game, the crowd held its breath. One point was all that he needed to nail Shong Seung Mo, the Olympic silver medallist, no less, in the third match of the Thomas Cup (Asian Zone) semifinal between India and Korea on Saturday.
And then Anup served high.

He'll probably be asked a hundred times why he chose that high serve when he knew Shon has one of the biggest smashes in the game. He'll probably ask that question of himself a thousand times. But it doesn't matter any more, because he served high, Shon smashed, went on to take the game, and destroyed the Indian national champion in the deciding game to see his country register a comfortable 3-0 verdict and enter the Asian Zone final.

Not that Anup's win might have made a big difference to the team's fortunes. India's best hope Chetan Anand, after his remarkable wins against the fancied Kendrick Lee (Singapore) and Ng Wei (Hong Kong) earlier, looked sluggish against Lee Hyun Il, the All England runner-up. He kept up the challenge briefly at the beginning of the match, but then succumbed to the Korean's big jump smashes.

The doubles pair of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas, which pulled off a surprise win over Hong Kong on Friday, fell tamely to the superior firepower of Lee Jae Jin and Han Sung Hoon.

And then it was Anup's turn. Like Chetan, he had won both his matches leading up to the semifinal, and he matched Shon stroke for stroke by reducing the pace of the rally and not allowing the Korean to get in his big smashes. At 21-22, game point for Shon, a stroke of luck favoured the Indian -- a line call went his way -- and he went on to take the game.

The second was a thriller all the way. The Indian kept catching Shon with his deceptive flicks and half-smashes, and began to poke holes on the Korean's forehand side. He seemed to have sewn it up at 20-16, four match points.

But then he faltered, making two misjudgements at the baseline and serving high when he had to keep the shuttle low. Two more match points came and went, both on the high serve, and the Korean just about squeezed through the second game. The third was a washout, as Anup looked too disappointed to pose a challenge.

Indian Chief Coach Vimal Kumar could shake his head. "Anup couldn't serve low under pressure. He tried to hurry Shon at match point... we didn't expect to upset Korea, but it would have been good if we could've won a couple of matches."
Results:
S Korea bt India 3-0 (Lee Hyun Il bt Chetan Anand 21-13, 21-10; Lee Jae Jin/ Han Sung Hoon bt Rupesh Kumar/ Sanave Thomas 21-17, 21-12; Shon Seung Mo bt Anup Sridhar 22-24, 27-25, 21-10).

India enter finals; Indonesia survive Thailand scare

2006-02-17T21:55:00.000-08:00

By Dev S Sukumar/ badmintonmania.com

Jaipur, February 17: India booked a place in the Thomas Cup finals with a surprisingly one-sided result over Hong Kong at the Asian Zone preliminaries in Jaipur on Friday. The Indian women, however, were overwhelmed by Singapore, who dashed their hopes of qualifying.

Advantaged by a scoring system that places more accent on skill than on stamina, India again set the pace when Chetan Anand caught world no.10 Ng Wei off-guard with his gentle flicks and double-action tosses. Once the breach had been achieved, Hong Kong were always staving off the attack. They equalised in the second match, but Indian national champion Anup Sridhar again showed far too much variety for Yohan Hadikusuma in the third singles game. The Indian doubles team of Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas then buried Hong Kong's challenge with yet another surprise result.

The new 21-point scoring system has been the topic of much debate, and IBF Deputy President Punch Gunalan even called a press conference on Friday to defend it.

But late on Friday, an unprecedented disaster seemed ready to unfold as Thailand led 2-0 against Indonesia. Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat and bronze medallist Sony Dwi Kuncoro were both dumped in the singles, by Boonsak Ponsana and Poompat S respectively. Had Thailand clinched one more match, Indonesia would have been out of the Thomas Cup, and that too even without making the finals! Such a result would have led to an immediate debate on the scoring system, especially as Taufik has made his dislike for it public.

But Indonesia's doubles teams saved the day. Piloted by the crafty Christian Hadinata from the coaches' bench, Luluk Hadiyanto and Alvin Yulianto reduced the deficit to 1-2 and then Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan equalised at 2-2.

But the task was not done. It required the baby-faced Simon Santoso to hold his nerve against Peerasak W, which the youngster did quite easily, much to the relief of the Indonesian contingent, comprising of Hadinata, Rudy Hartono, Lius Pongoh, and other legends.

Indonesia thus topped Group B and will take on Group A toppers Malaysia in the semifinals of the Asian Zone. The other semis will pit Group C toppers India against Group D toppers Korea.

Indonesia's women, however, missed the bus by coming fourth in the group. Although they narrowly beat Chinese Taipei on Friday, they'd lost to Malaysia 2-3, while Chinese Taipei had beaten Malaysia 3-2.

Thomas Cup: India bt Hong Kong 3-2 (Chetan Anand bt Ng Wei 26-24, 21-19; Agus Hariyanto bt Arvind Bhat 21-12, 21-16; Anup Sridhar bt Yohan Hadikusuma 17-21, 21-18, 21-12; Rupesh Kumar/ Sanave Thomas bt Albertus Susanto / Wa Kwog Liu 11-21, 21-18, 21-10; Agus Hariyanto/ Yohan Hadikusuma bt V Diju/ Jaseel Ismail 21-15, 14-21, 21-17).

Indonesia bt Thailand 3-2: Boonsak Ponsana (Tha) bt Taufik Hidayat 22-20, 21-19; Poompat S (Tha) bt Sony Kuncoro 21-19, 13-21, 21-10; Luluk H/ Alven Y bt Sudket Prapakamol/ Patapol N 21-13, 21-19; Markis Kido/ Hendra Setiawan bt Songpol A/ Nitipong S 21-14, 21-15; Simon Santoso bt Peerasak W 21-13, 21-11)

Group A: 1-Malaysia 2-Iran 3-Pakistan 4-Nepal

Group B: 1-Indonesia 2-Thailand 3-Vietnam

Group C: 1-India 2-Hong Kong 3- Singapore

Group D: 1-Korea 2-Chinese Taipei 3-Sri Lanka

Uber Cup: Singapore bt India 5-0 (Li Li bt Aparna Popat 16-21, 21-13, 21-16; Xing Aiying bt Saina Nehwal 21-15, 19-21, 21-17; Jiang Yanmei bt Meenakshi 24-22, 21-8; Jiang Yanmei/ Li Yuija bt Jwala G/ Shruti K 21-12, 21-18; Xing Aiying/ Mulya Shinta bt Saina Nehwal/ Aparna Balan 21-14, 21-15)

Group Y: 1-Korea 2-Chinese Taipei 3-Malaysia 4-Indonesia 5-Iran

Group Z: 1-Hong Kong 2-Singapore 3-India 4-Thailand 5-Pakistan

Rising stars impress at press meet

2006-01-07T05:24:00.000-08:00

Pallav Deka/ badmintonmania.com

THE setting was ideal — The Media Room. It was indeed a new experience for the players, officials and press involved with badminton in India, the first of its kind where players had a session with the press immediately after the day’s matches.

The most promising junior players of the country – P Kashyap, Saina Nehwal, Anand Pawar and Aditi Mutatkar – made a good impression on the first day of the Open championships. They all showed a lot of confidence and answered in style.

Coming into this chapter of the Senior Nationals with each one of them backed with impressive performances in the domestic tournaments in the year 2005, they were oozing with a lot of confidence on putting up a good show at the Nationals.

Kashyap and Saina, the current Junior National champions, have had a great year so far. They have not only dominated the junior scene but have shocked a few of the seniors. Kashyap was not expected to win the Senior Major Ranking Tournament in Indore but he did it in style – beating Chetan Anand, Thomas Kurian, Janish K and Abhinn Shyam Gupta on the way.

Saina on the other hand made headlines by shocking eight-time Senior National Champion Aparna Popat in the final of the Asian Satellite Championships held at Delhi. She has also had victories over the other top-ranked players of the country including Trupti Murgunde and BR Meenakshi. Mittal Sports Trust has identified her as an international prospect and is supporting her. She believes that with more international exposure and a personal coach she will do well in international events as well. Both Kashyap and Saina come into this tournament with impressive performances at the PSPB Inter-Unit Badminton Championships held at Chennai last fortnight and that makes them strong contenders for the Bangalore nationals.

Aditi Mutatkar’s story is interesting and inspiring in itself. After sustaining a career-threatening injury to her knee she had to undergo an ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) reconstruction. The comeback was not easy. She had to undergo rehabilitation — comprising various strengthening and stretching exercises, while fighting anxiety, depression and boredom from doing routine exercises day in and out. But she did overcome all that and after a few initial hiccups has started to show the talent and potential she possesses. It needs a lot of grit and determination to overcome an injury and perform. She has shown it all and her opponents need to beware of this gritty junior.

The fourth among the talented group is Anand Pawar. An aggressive player by nature he has registered creditable wins over senior players like Nikhil Kanetkar, JBS Vidyadhar and Utsav Mishra. Having shown a lot of promise in the last couple of years he reached the finals of two tournaments last season – the Asian Satellite at Delhi and the JRD Tata Memorial at Jamshedpur, and seems to be brimming with confidence.

He feels that as far as skill, speed, power and stamina is concerned he is on par with the seniors. Being accustomed to the conditions at the KBA and coming from badminton stock (being the son of Uday and Sujata Pawar) he is the player to watch.

All four players feel that the playing conditions and overall conduct of the tournament at this nationals are at par with any international tournament that they have participated. They feel that the ambience is good enough to bring out their best. They are appreciative of the concept of the press-player conference.

Kuncoro, Wang Chen make ABC a tournament to remember

2005-09-12T01:53:00.000-07:00

Dev S Sukumar

Hyderabad, 12 September 2005: Twenty-nine years after Hyderabad hosted the Asian Badminton Confederation championships, the ABC returned to the city. As in 1976, Indonesia had a representative in the men's singles final: Sony Dwi Kuncoro was to play Malaysian Kuan Beng Hong for the title.

Of course, back in 1976, King was facing a much more formidable opponent. Badminton enthusiasts still remember the day when China's Hou Chia Chang produced a masterful display of control and deception to weave a web around King, who was more than ten years younger than him. The ABC was the highlight of the badminton season of that year in India, and Hou Chia crafted a climactic display that has only rarely been equalled.

Sony Dwi Kuncoro did what King couldn't all those years ago, when he beat Hong for the crown. Later, his team mates Hendra Setiawan and Markis Kido made it a memorable day for their country when they annexed the men's doubles title, with an impeccable display against Lee Jae Jin and Jung Jae Sung of Korea.

Lee Jae Jin had also lost in the mixed doubles final; he and partner Lee Hyo Jung failed narrowly to pull off a dramatic three-game final against Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thounghthongkam. Lee Hyo Jung was more fortunate, as she won the women's doubles title along with Lee Kyung Won.

The women's singles gold went to Wang Chen of Hong Kong, who breezed through her opposition with nonchalant ease.

Boonsak troubles Kuncoro:
Kuncoro's stiffest test actually came in the quarterfinals. Boonsak Ponsana, all wristy deception and fluid feet, won the first game before the Olympic bronze medallist dug in deep and rose to a higher level. The match was a final before the final; Kuncoro's thundering jump smashes and Boonsak's sublime touch at the net producing a fine exhibition of badminton.

Wang Chen, meanwhile, had summarily dismissed all opposition. There was none to challenge her breathtaking crosscourt drops or the half-smashes on both flanks; and it was a matter of regret that the Chinese had decided against participating.

The doubles matches, as always, were stiffly fought. Lee Jae Jin and Jung Jae Sung, the world No.6 pair, were expected to win, but Setiawan and Kido had it surprisingly easy in the final. Perhaps Jae Jin was hampered by his heavily strapped right shoulder and the efforts of the mixed doubles final earlier on Sunday.

Despite the tight contest in the mixed doubles final, Sudket and Saralee were the overwheling favourites. Sudket was awesome, leaping a few feet in the air and nailing smashes with blood-curdling ferocity; Saralee sharp at the net and smashing powerfully when the need arose. The Thais demolished their opponents in the semis and quarters, and it took all the craft and power of Jae Jin and Hyo Jung to hold them up temporarily in the final. The Koreans won a close second game 17-14, and kept apace till 10-12 in the decider. But Sudket and Saralee had too many bullets left in their arsenal, and powered to the gold withouth giving one more point.

Saralee-Sathinee upset:
The big upset in the women's doubles was of Saralee T and Sathinee J in the quarterfinals, to the recent combination of Jo Novita and Greysia Polii of Indonesia. Novita and Polii have partnered in only three tournaments before this, but they played with supreme confidence, attacking and defending with equal felicity. In the semis, however, they ran into Reiko Shiota and Kumako Ogura, who played a smart tactical match -- chalked out perhaps by doubles legend and Japan coach Park Joo Bong -- and they took the sting out of the Indonesians by tossing everything to the baseline and inviting Polii and Novita to keep hitting. But the Indonesians ran out of steam after a while, and the Japanese eased into the final.

However, in the final awaited the crafty Kyung Won and Hyo Jung. Apart from a brief lapse in the second game, the Koreans were well on top, and coach Park Joo Bong must have had mixed feelings as he left the stadium. None of the Japanese could win a title.

Encouraging show from Indian youngsters:
The Indian performance, particularly from the youngsters, gave cause for cheer. Padkukone Academy-trainee Aditi Mutatkar, having just recovered from a right knee injury, had game point against Wang Chen in the pre-quarterfinal, but the world no.4 just about managed to edge past her 13-10.

Junior champion Saina Nehwal, who is reckoned to be the future of women's badminton in India, had match point at 10-7 in the second game of her pre-quarterfinal against Wong Mew Choo before the Malaysian pulled off a dramatic escape. Wong went on to lose in the quarters.

Another Padukone Academy-trainee, Sagar Chopda, took the first game off eventual semifinalist Lee Hyun Il, while Anand Pawar matched experienced Malaysian Roslin Hashim in the first game before his challenge fell tamely in the second.

India has now a new generation of shuttlers to look up to -- Aditi Mutatkar, Saina Nehwal, Sagar Chopda, Anand Pawar, P Kashyap and Jishnu Sanyal are among those who have shown plenty of promise in recent months.

The best performances, however, came from the more experienced Arvind Bhat and Chetan Anand. Arvind was all over Lee Hyun Il in their quarterfinal bout, but the Indian faltered at game point and the Korean eased through in the second game.

Chetan, having demolished Shoji Sato in their pre-quarterfinal bout, bewildered eventual finalist Kuan Beng Hong in the first game with his array of flicks and slow drops. Beng Hong could only watch helplessly as the Indian threatened to take the match away in quick time. But the effort had slowed down the Indian's legs, the stamina was suspect and the feet weary, and inevitably the Malaysian clawed his way back.

The most encouraging sight at the ABC was the presence of the Iranian women. This was their first international tournament outside their country. They played in a specially-designed outfit that covered them head to toe, having received permission from the ABC earlier. They got plenty of attention from the local press. They recorded all the important matches at Hyderabad, and one is sure the videos will be put to good use.

Results:

MS: Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Kuen Beng Hong (Mas) 15-10, 15-5.
WS: Wang Chen (Hkg) bt Kaori Mori (Jpn) 15-1115-7.
WD: Lee Kyung Won/ Lee Hyo Jung (Kor) bt Kumako Ogura/ Reiko Shiota (Jpn) 15-13, 8-15, 15-5.
MD: Markis Kido/ Hendra Setiawan (Ina) bt Lee Jae Jin/ Jung Jae Sung (Kor) 15-11, 15-7.
MXD: Sudket Prapakamol/ Saralee T (Tha) bt Lee Jae Jin/ Lee Hyo Jung (Kor) 15-11, 14-17, 15-10.

Live from Hyd: Sony is king of ABC

2005-09-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

Dev S Sukumar/ badmintonmania.com

Hyderabad, 11 September 2005:
Indonesia can celebrate. Two golds out of the five at stake isn't bad: Sony Dwi Kuncoro and the men's doubles team of Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan returned with top honours to cap a satisfying tournament for Indonesia.

Three countries shared the other three titles. Hong Kong's Wang Chen was expected to win the women's singles and so she did with minimum fuss; Korea's Lee Kyung Won and Lee Hyo Jung weathered a Japanese storm to take the women's doubles gold; while Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee Thounghthongkam broke Korea's heart in the mixed doubles.

The mixed doubles final, scheduled first on Sunday, was the only nail-biting contest. Sudket was flamboyant as usual, leaping at the back and executing murderous winners; Lee Jae Jin was not far behind; while Saralee and Lee Hyo Jung patrolled the net, jumping at any shuttle that dared rise an inch above the net cord.

The Koreans, having lost the first game at 11 but equalling with a second game win at 17-14, fell slightly behind at 7-12 in the decider. But Jae Jin powered his team on, smashing powerfully to come close at 10-12. It was touch-and-go, but luck favoured the Thais as Saralee's drive fell over after tipping the net cord.

The Thai girl consolidated the advantage, attacking the net, returning everything the Koreans hit at her, and finally nailed a winner. At 10-13 the Koreans still had a chance, but Jae Jin netted his return and the Thais had match point. Ironically, he again netted a drive to hand the match to Sudket and Saralee.

Poor Lee Jae Jin. Playing in two finals this evening, he lost both -- the second, in the company of Jung Jae Sung. His mixed doubles partner, Lee Hyo Jung, however had the satisfaction of taking home a gold in the women's doubles.

Kuncoro, Wang Chen reign:
Both the singles finals were one-sided. Kuan Beng Hong of Malaysia started well, running up a 6-1 lead, but that lasted only until the Indonesian found his rhythm. He leapt at anything that seemed hittable, bringing those vicious crosscourt jump smashes into play, and totally overwhelming the Malaysian. A beautiful slow drop gave him 8-6, while two jump smashes saw him at 11-6. Kuan was being blown away, and the only points that came his way were errors by the Olympic bronze medallist. Occasionally he produced a beauty himself -- a counter dribble that foxed Sony was the highlight of his performance -- but these were too few to bother the Indonesian.

Unlike his semifinal performance against Lee Hyun Il, where he had produced several devastating smashes, Kuan looked tame. The difference, of course, was that Sony was keeping all the shuttles down, not giving the Malaysian the length or the height to smash. At times Sony did toss it into the air, challenging the Malaysian to hit, and he returned whatever thunderbolts Kuan sent down. With nothing else to offer, Kuan's challenge folded up meekly, much as Kaori Mori had against Wang Chen in the women's singles final.

Wang had some trouble in the opening game, but it was an error-strewn performance by both players, and the final never rose to a significant level. Both women seemed tight to begin with, and it was only towards the end of the game that Wang came into her own, leaving her Japanese rival flat-footed with those fabulous cross court drops that she has perfected. Mori tried to increase the pace in the second, but Wang was always a step ahead of her. On the few occasions that Mori broke her serve, she immediately broke back by attacking her rival's service. It was an imperious performance. If only the Chinese had participated, Wang might have shown more of her repertoire. As it was, she jogged through her competition, with only young Indian Aditi Mutatkar threatening to take a game off her in the second round.

"I was a little tight in the beginning," Wang Chen said. "I didn't come in with any particular strategy -- I tried to keep keep her at the back."

Kuncoro was a little bit more elaborate. "I was confident before the final because I have beaten Kuan twice already. I played loose, no tension. In the beginning I was in doubt, I was trying to adjust to his game, but then I attacked."

Asked what role coach Joko Suprianto had in his win, he said: "Joko told me to pressure him from the start, to not give him a chance to hit."

Korean women pip Japanese:
The women's doubles was a strange contest. Lee Hyo Jung and Lee Kyung Won seemed to have everything under control against Kumako Ogura and Reiko Shiota after a first game win, but then they fell back 2-10 in the second. Perhaps Hyo Jung was recovering from her efforts of the first match, the mixed doubles. The Koreans fought back to 8-12 in a single service game, but the Japanese recovered in time to take the next three points.

Whatever rhythm the Japanese had evaporated soon enough, as the Koreans ran away to an 8-1 lead, and Shiota and Ogura never looked like they could make it. Hyo Jung, with her fearsome presence at the net, and Kyung Won rattling in smashes from behind, destroyed whatever tactics the Japanese had worked out.

The final match of the day, the men's doubles, was particularly of interest to Indonesia because Jae Jin and Jae Sung had beaten favourites Hendra Gunawan and Joko Riyadi in the semifinals.

There were no blazing guns, no thundering smashes and diving retrievals. It was almost an anti-climax to an eagerly-awaited final. Few rallies in the first game went beyond four or five strokes. The Indonesians, aware of the destructive smashes on the other side, kept the shuttle down, exploring the angles and trying to outmanoevre the opposition.

It was a particularly effective ploy today by the Indonesians. Jae Jin had already played a tiring mixed doubles final, and he could not get any momentum. Both Setiawan and Kido played soft, resorting to big smashes in spurts, and drawing whatever sting the Koreans had. In such a game of quick exchanges, the Koreans were desperately short of momentum, and the Indonesians notched up point after point with seeming ease. The Koreans kept pace till 7-all in the first.

Their challenge totally fell apart in the second. Kido, erratic at times but brilliant otherwise, and Setiawan, consistent with the soft drops and playing close to the net, did everything right today to take a richly-deserved gold and trigger celebrations in the Indonesian camp.

Results:
MS: Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Kuen Beng Hong (Mas) 15-10, 15-5.
WS: Wang Chen (Hkg) bt Kaori Mori (Jpn) 15-1115-7.
WD: Lee Kyung Won/ Lee Hyo Jung (Kor) bt Kumako Ogura/ Reiko Shiota (Jpn) 15-13, 8-15, 15-5.
MD: Markis Kido/ Hendra Setiawan (Ina) bt Lee Jae Jin/ Jung Jae Sung (Kor) 15-11, 15-7.
MXD: Sudket Prapakamol/ Saralee T (Tha) bt Lee Jae Jin/ Lee Hyo Jung (Kor) 15-11, 14-17, 15-10.

Live from Hyd: Kuan stands in Sony's path to ABC title

2005-09-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Dev S Sukumar/ badmintonmania.com

Hyderabad, 10 September 2005: It's going to be Sony Dwi Kuncoro against Kuan Beng Hong and Wang Chen versus Kaori Mori for the ABC singles throne.

On a day when three of the four singles matches were one-sided affairs, the most excitement was provided by the men's doubles semifinal between Hendra Gunawan/ Joko Riyadi and Lee Jae Jin and Jung Jae Sung. The match went into three games, with the winners being... no, we'll save that for later.

After Sony beat Ng Wei in straight games, young Malaysian Kuan Beng Hong took on Lee Hyun Il. It was a tight affair to begin with, but once the Malaysian stitched up the first game, he cruised through the second. Kuan started off attacking furiously, notching up a 6-2 lead before Lee made his presence felt. The Korean tried to slow down the pace, forcing three successive errors from the Malaysian, and came close at 8-9.

Hong retaliated with another fierce barrage; Lee could barely hang on as the Malaysian went up 11-8. Although he narrowed the gape to 11-12, his challenge was killed when Hong dived to retrieve an impossible shot at the net, and then rushed back to the baseline and fired a down-the-line winner. From then on the Korean was a passenger as Hong drilled point after point, and emerged a 15-11, 15-4 winner.

The all-Japanese women's semifinal between Mori and Hirose was expected to go the distance; they were familiar with each other's game and it was always going to be a couple of points that made the difference. Mori had a rather easy first game, winning 11-5, but then Hirose got going and won the second game just as easily. She continued in the same vein, going up 4-0 and 7-4 up with those wonderful crosscourt drops and hard smashes.

It seemed a matter of time before she closed the match; her game was flowing beautifully and Mori was shaking her head in desperation.

But the shift in momentum came again, just as mysteriously. Mori flung herself at every winner that Hirose threw at her, slowly she climbed back and equalled at 7, and a Hirose drop that found the net gave her an 8-7 lead.

Serve changed ends six times, Hirose equalled at 8, a long rally followed until Hirose made the critical error. Mori went 9-8 up but Hirose again equalled.

Another one-point lead for Mori, but then she misjudged a toss and then smashed wide to let her compatriot equal at 10-all. Three errors from Hirose -- unfortunately, her favourite cross court drop found the net at the most critical time -- gave Mori her entry into the final.

Gunawan-Riyadi fail:
Back to the men's doubles. Markis Kido and Hendra Setiawan had made the final after a close bout with Tan Bin Shen and Ong Soon Hock of Malaysia. If Hendra Gunawan and Riyadi could do the same, Indonesia would have been assured of a gold. Alas, it was not to be. They will have to wait until tommorow to see if Setiawan and Kido can thwart Lee Jae Jin and Jung Jae Sung.

Gunawan and Riyadi were all over the Koreans to begin with, whipping them 15-8 in the opener. With Gunawan patrolling the back, and Riyadi nipping off anything near the net, the Indonesians looked on course to join their compatriots in the final.

The momentum swung dramatically the other way in the second game. The Koreans went up 5-0 and 10-5 thanks to some elementary errors from the Indonesians, who appeared to be recovering their energies. Lee and Jung smashed winners frequently on both flanks as Gunawan and Riyadi looked on, both hopelessly out of position.

Having broken serve at 12-8, both Indonesians promptly lost theirs -- Gunawan served short and Riyadi served wide. Lee and Jung needed no further invitation. The third game was even more of a mismatch as the Koreans went up a level higher. Despite flashes of brilliance from both the Indonesians, the Koreans were just too consistent today.

Indonesia's doubles woes were further compounded when Jo Novita and Greysia Poli were completely outmanoevered by the Japanese pair of Kumako Ogura and Reiko Shota. There was no doubt that their strategy was conceived by coach Park Joo Bong -- so meticulous and well-executed was it that the Indonesians stood no chance.

Novita and Poli had shocked favourites Saralee and Sathinee in the quarters, thanks to some big hitting by both of them. The Japanese, however, countered their attacking style by lifting everything to the baseline. Poli and Novita wore themselves out hitting smash after smash -- and everything kept coming back. The Japanese attack itself was sudden and unpredictable.

The Indonesians threw everything they had, and at times they did brilliantly. At 8-12 down in the first game came the rally of the match -- Poli and Novita smashed time after time; the shuttle kept coming back, and after about 30 strokes the Japanese made an error. Both teams got a standing ovation.

By the second game the Indonesians had wisened up to the tactics of their opponents, so they replied toss with toss. The rallies got more defensive, but both Ogura and Shota made lesser errors and played sharp on the big points to ease through during the final moments.

By the end of day's play, two Koreans had set themselves up in line for a double -- Lee Jae Jin and Lee Hyo Jung won their mixed doubles semifinal over Mohd Rizal and Endang Nursugianti. They will face the Thai pair of Sudket Prapakamol and Saralee in the final. Lee Hyo Jung is also in the women's doubles final.

Sudket and Saralee destroyed Albertus Susanto and Li Wing. Sudket, spectacular with his huge jump smashes, and reminiscent of a Liem Swie King, gave the Hong Kong pair no chance. The Thais go into the final as favourites, especially since Lee Jae Jin and Lee Hyo Jung have their other doubles finals also to worry about.

Results: Semifinals:
MS: Sony Dwi Kuncoro bt Ng Wei; Kuan Beng Hong bt Lee Hyun Il 15-11, 15-4.
WS: Wang Chen bt Cheng Shao Chieh; Kaori Mori bt Eriko Hirose 11-5, 5-11, 13-10.
MD: Setiawan/ Markis Kido bt Tan Bin Shen/ Ong Soon Hock 15-13, 15-13; Lee Jae Jin/ Jung Jae Sung bt Hendra Gunawan/ Joko Riyadi 8-15, 15-8, 15-6.
WD: Ogura/ Shota bt Poli/ Novita 15-10, 15-4.
MXD: Sudket/ Saralee bt Albertus/ Li Wing; Lee Jae Jin/ Lee Hyo Jung bt Rizal/ Endang.

Live from Hyd: Sony survives Boonsak challenge

2005-09-10T00:04:00.000-07:00

Dev S Sukumar/ badmintonmania.com

Hyderabad, 9 September 2005:
Olympic bronze medallist Sony Dwi Kuncoro won his first big battle of the ABC championships after a bruising, 80 minute encounter with Thailand's Boonsak Ponsana in the quarterfinal on Friday. Others to reach the men's semifinals were Ng Wei, Lee Hyun Il and Kuan Beng Hong.

Women's world no.17 Cheng Shao Chieh created the biggest upset in the singles, beating Kanako Yonekura of Japan after a tense three-game struggle. There were no other upsets in the women's singles, with top seed Wang Chen, Kaori Mori and Eriko Hirose all booking their places in the last four.

Meanwhile, Indonesia had further cause to rejoice, with two of their women's doubles pairs making it to the semis. Jo Novita and Greysia Poli played wonderful badminton to upset world no.6 pair Saralee Thoungthongkam and Satinee Jankrajangwong in straight games. After that smart achievement, they sat by the court checking messages on their mobile phones, seeming almost oblivious to the magnitude of their achievement. "We formed this partnership just three tournaments ago, and our best showing was a semifinal place at the Singapore Open," said Poli. Indonesian coach Atik Jauhari was delighted with his young team's performance.

Their compatriots Lita Nurlita and Natalia Poluakan came through after a tough three-game win over Matsuda Tomomi and Akao Aki of Japan.

An error-strewn match:
Sony was erratic and brilliant by turns. Boonsak dominated the net early in the match, catching Sony time and again with his tight dribbles. The Indonesian countered Boonsak's languid style with a blistering attack, but some spectacular winners were negated by terrible errors. The serve changed ends several times at 11-all, until Boonsak went ahead when Sony smashed into the net.

The Thai earned game point after winning a net exchange, and clinched the game with a drive to a Sony smash.

The momentum completely swung the Indonesian's way after the break, thanks perhaps to coach Joko Suprianto. His smashes more accurate, his leaping interceptions breaking the elegant Thai's rhythm, Sony raced to a 7-3 lead with some big jump smashes that punched holes in Boonsak's backhand court, Boonsak could manage only one more point as the Indonesian easily took the second game at 15-4.

It was clear by the final game that both men were exhausted. Sony seemed to have recovered his touch at the net, and despite wayward smashes, went up 9-3. It looked like Boonsak had given up, but the Thai staged a comeback thanks to three consecutive errors by the Indonesian. Sony broke with a beautiful piece of deception -- he faked a smash and dropped it in front of the net, leaving Boonsak flat-footed in the middle.

Still, the Thai egged himself on, and levelled at 9. Sony edged ahead 11-9, serve changed ends a few times, and then the Indonesian got the critical point when Boonsak netted a return. Sony went ahead at 13-10, Boonsak narrowed the deficit by one point, but again the Indonesian found his big smashes on target and fittingly closed with a jump smash.

Yonekura falls to Cheng:
Cheng played her sticky style to counter Yonekura's more aggressive game. The Japanese seemed to have little trouble in the first game, keeping up a fast pace and serving up enough variety to keep the Taipei girl off-balance. There was no hint of things to come when Yonekura won the first game at 11-1.

Even as top seed Wang Chen was decimating Hirayama on two courts away, Cheng turned the heat on Yonekura. She threw herself at everything, retrieving sure winners and exhausting the Japanese into playing past her physical limitations. The match turned into a war of attrition, each player refusing to give up, rallies extending to 20 strokes and more. A 6-all score turned 8-all; Cheng got the critical lead at 9-8 when Yonekura's beautiful sliced drop found the net. Two smashes gave the Taipei girl the second game.

By the third, the Japanese was so drained by Cheng's bloodsucking style of play that she could barely stand; still, she gamely fought until the middle of the game, coming close at 5-6. But Cheng had far too much fuel left in her tank; she allowed the Japanese just one more point. Whoever beats Cheng in the semifinals is going to be one tired woman.

Even as Yonekura was invovled with this mind-numbing match, Wang Chen had coolly finished hers and left the stadium. Playing with a strapping on her right knee, the world no.4 was erratic to begin with, but found her rhythm and toyed with Hirayama. Arcing like a bow to convert defence into attack, firing steep smashes that kissed the service line, and driving flat on both flanks, Wang Chen had Hirayama on a string. The first game was won 11-7, courtesy a few errors, but the second was a demolition, as she dismissed the Japanese 11-3.

Arvind, Chetan fall:
Despite the presence of so many stars -- a rare phenomenon in India, as far as badminton is concerned -- all the attention was on local favourites Chetan Anand and Arvind Bhat. The only Indian winner of the ABC was Dinesh Khanna, at the inaugural event in 1965 in Lucknow; even Prakash Padukone had managed only a semifinal place, in 1976, losing to Liem Swie King. (King lost to a masterly Hou Chia Chang in the final.)

Arvind took on Lee Hyun Il and was expected to run him close, especially since young compatriot Sagar Chopda had taken the first game off the Korean in the second round.

An upset seemed on the cards as Arvind came on firing, leaping in the air to effect those huge jump smashes. Lee was caught time and again by Arvind's flicks and smashes, and the Indian seemed to be running away with the first game with a 10-3 lead.

Slowly, inevitably, the Korean inched back, and finally catching the Indian at 10. Arvind was trying desperately to gain the advantage, but Lee refused to yield, despite several service breaks. Lee was up 14-10, but again the Indian fought back, equalling at 14 after a scorching rally and a Lee error at the net.

It was the Korean's greater speed and control that made the difference, as he pipped Arvind to the post at 17-16. The tense struggle had taken out all of Arvind's strength, and he could only watch helplessly as the Korean ran away with the second game and match.

Chetan Anand's match against Kuan Beng Hong was a strange affair. The Indian, with his patented wristy style and deception, had Hong in all sorts of trouble. A stream of errors flowed from the world no.11's racket as he was unable to read the Indian. Chetan went up 12-2 and should have stiched it up, but the Indian is well known for his lack of consistency and mental strength. Hong breathed down his neck at 10-12, but the Indian just about managed to hold him off and won 15-10.

The second and third games again reflected why Chetan had for so long remained a non-achiever, despite his stroke-making ability and ease of movement. The legs seemed to hold iron weights as they refused to follow the shuttle; the precise, crisp shots soon became wayward, and the crowd was dulled into silence. Chetan has been known as the most talented of all the Indian men, and this was a good opportunity -- in the absence of the Chinese -- to make a mark, but the Indian has also been notorious for shirking work. Perhaps a stint in Denmark -- he and wife Jwala Gutta are to play in Copenhagen -- will wake him up.

Results:
MS: Ng Wei bt Sairul Amar 15-10, 15-5; Sony Kuncoro bt Boonsak Ponsana 11-15, 15-4, 15-11; Lee Hyun Il bt Arvind Bhat 17-16, 15-5; Kuan Beng Hong bt Chetan Anand 10-15, 15-7, 15-2.

WS: Wang Chen bt Hirayama 11-7, 11-3; Cheng Shao Chieh bt Yonekura 1-11, 11-8, 11-6; Kaori Mori bt Adriyanti Firdasari 11-3, 7-11, 11-4; Eriko Hirose bt Wong Mew Choo 11-8, 11-6.

WD: Lee Kyung/ Lee Hyo Jung (Kor) bt Thilini J/ Renu Chandrika (SL) 15-1, 15-1; Lita Nurlita/ Natalia Poluakan (Ina) bt Matsuda Tomomi/ Akao Aki (Jpn) 13-15, 15-5, 15-9; Ogura Kumako/ Shiota Reiko (Jpn) bt Koon Wai Chee/ Li Wing Mui (Hkg) 15-0, 15-7; Jo Novita/ Greysia Poli (Ina) bt Saralee T/ Sathinee J 15-12, 15-10.

MXD: Lee Jae Jin/ Lee Hyo Jung (Kor) bt Kawamae Naoki/ Akao Aki (Jpn) 15-2, 15-2; Mohd Rizal/ Endang N (Ina) bt Song Phon/ Kuncala (Tha) 8-15, 15-6, 17-14; Albertus Susanto/ Li Wing (Hkg) bt Diju V/ Jwala G 15-12, 15-12; Sudket P/ Saralee (Tha) bt Devin Lahardi/ Vita Marissa (Ina) 17-15, 15-5.

MD: Hendra Gunawan/ Joko Riyadi (Ina) bt Albertus Susanto/ Wiratama (Hkg) 15-4, 15-6; Lee Jae Jin/ Jung Jae Sung (Kor) bt Gan Teik Chai/ Abdul Latif (Mas) 15-12, 13-15, 15-7.

Anup's the new king of Indian badminton

2005-02-06T22:59:00.000-08:00

Aparna becomes an Indian badminton immortal

Dev S Sukumar

Jamshedpur, 6 February 05:
Bangalore's Anup Sridhar blew away veteran Abhinn Shyam Gupta in less than an hour to be crowned the new National men's singles champion, with a display that was near-perfect in style and execution.

But a similar match-up in the women's singles failed to produce a new champion, as Aparna Popat dismissed young gun Saina Nehwal to set a record of eight consecutive titles. In overall titles, she is equal to Madhumita Bisht, who has eight titles, but spread over nine years. Madhumita's run was interrupted in the second year by Radhika Bose.

The men's doubles as usual was a tense and gritty affair, with favourites Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas emerging victors after a prolonged battle with Jaseel Ismail and V Diju. This is Rupesh's third consecutive men's doubles title. The women's doubles went to Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurien, while the mixed title was won by Markose Bristow and BR Meenakshi. This is Meenakshi's first National Championships title.

But the big story was definitely Anup Sridhar. Anup's talent has always been obvious; the only question was temperament. He had never won a National Championships title in any age category; he has lost to opponents far less talented than himself. He has blown huge leads on many occassions. Could he keep his nerve against the calm Abhinn Shyam Gupta?

His gameplan would be to keep the rallies short; use flicks, drops, taps and drives to keep Abhinn off-balance and off-rhythm. The longer the rally went, the lesser Anup's chances would be.

Abhinn, on the other hand, had to maintain perfect length on his tosses; anything short and the 6' 2" Anup would jump and kill.

Which is what happened. Abhinn just could not get his tosses right -- or rather, Anup didn't allow him to get into that grinding rhythm. At 4-all in the first game emerged a war of attrition; serve changed hands five times, before Anup went ahead with a big smash.

Three more smashes and Anup was up 8-4. Uncharacteristically, even when he won serve, Abhinn was making errors on the first shot. With another big crosscourt jump smash, Anup went up 10-4.

Despite Abhinn's constant requests for shuttle change and breaks for rest, Anup kept up the tempo, smashing belligerently at every opportunity, and controlling the net brilliantly. He outplayed Abhinn at the net, winning the exhanges and jumping for the tap. He finally closed out with a smash to Abhinn's forehand.

At 5-0 in the second game came the rally of the tournament, one that effectively buried Abhinn's hopes. Just a day earlier, Abhinn had rallied similarly against Thomas Kurien. Kurien had three chances for a kill; every time Abhinn -- completely at Kurien's mercy -- jumped left and right to return those big smashes, desperately keeping the shuttle in play and draining all of Kurien's morale.

Much the same happened against Anup. The young contender had Abhinn stranded, smashed for the kill, and yet Abhinn dived from nowhere and returned the shuttle. Not once, but thrice.

But Anup, not disheartened, played close to the lines and the net, and finally forced an error off Abhinn. If confirmation was required of Anup's steel, this was it.

From 6-0 Anup progressed to 8-2. Abhinn rallied back to make it 4-8, and another rally ensued at 9-4, and again Anup showed his nerve to win the rally.

After 11-4, it looked like Abhinn had lost his challenge. Anup motored ahead to 11-4 and then 14-4. Abhinn saved one match point, won another point, but then sent a clear long. Anup just looked around with disbelief as the stadium erupted.

Aparna too good for Saina
For a brief while in both games, Saina seemed capable of halting Aparna's long-drawn domination of Indian badminton. In those moments, Saina was the strong challenger pushing Aparna to the ropes with her powerful hits and speedy legs.

But then, as Aparna proved yet again, there is still some distance between her and the rest. Aparna was too fast, too skillful, too sharp, for the young contender from Hyderabad. Still, for Saina, this was a better performance than the last time, when she lost a game at love to Aparna in the last Nationals, in the semifinal.

The early part of the match seemed evenly balanced, as Saina played aggressively to everything Aparna had to offer. The defending champion was forced into a couple of errors as the challenge drew level at 3-all. But Aparna found her rhythm; she moved the youngster about at will, pinning her to the backcourt and suddenly using the diagonal sharp drop or slice to keep Saina running at a high pace and tiring her. Within moments it was matchpoint, and she won the game without a problem.

In the second, Saina suddenly ran ahead at 4-0, and suddenly an even match seemed possible. But that was the farthest Saina could get. Aparna was simply too accurate and had too many variations for Saina to read her accurately on the day. The second game and eighth title was won duly at 11-4.

Sanave-Rupesh edge out Jaseel-Diju
The most rivetting contest on the day was the men's doubles. Sanave and Rupesh were the favourites, but Chetan Anand and JBS Vidyadhar had taken a game off them in the semis.

After a comfortable first game win at for the top seeds, Jaseel and Diju suddenly caught fire while trailing 6-10. Diju took charge, flying all over the place and smashing powerfully. At 12-all the match became tense; seve changed hands a few times, and the score crawled to 14-all. Jaseel and Diju won the game when Rupesh killed a tap, only to be given a belated "out" call.

Sanave and Rupesh regained momentum in the third, going up 9-4, then again lost initiative and the score levelled at 9-all. At 12-10, Jaseel suddenly fell on the court, complaining of cramps. To his credit, he fought right through the pain, jumping and smashing and prowling the net.

Despite that, Sanave and Rupesh earned matchpoint at 14-10, but Jaseel lunged around to save it. At 14-12 came the fiercest battle. Jaseel and Dju saved match point six times. Finally, on the seventh match point, Jaseel sent a tap out to give Rupesh and Sanave top honours.

Easy for Jwala-Shruti
After that tense semifinal, when Jwala and Shruti warded off an inspired Saina and Aparna Balan, the final was tame stuff. Te top seeds packed too many punches for their young challengers. Jwala's big smashes were rarely returned; their deceptive drops fell in open spaces; and the result was never in doubt.

Earlier, in the first match of the day, BR Meenakshi got her first National Championships title by partnering Markose Bristow against Jaison Xavier and Aparna Balan. This is Bristow's second mixed doubles title.

Results:
Men's Singles: Anup Sridhar bt Abhinn Shyam Gupta 15-4, 15-5.
Women's Singles: Aparna Popat bt Saina Nehwal 11-3, 11-4.
Men's Doubles: Sanave Thomas/ Rupesh Kumar bt V Diju/ Jaseel Ismail 15-12, 14-17, 15-12.
Women's Doubles: Jwala Gutta/ Shruti Kurien bt Krishna Deka Raja/ Oli Deka 15-3, 15-3.
Mixed Doubles: Markose Bristow/ BR Meenakshi bt Jaison Xavier/ Aparna Balan 15-3, 15-2.

It's Anup attack versus Abhinn defence

2005-02-05T21:49:00.000-08:00

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

Day of stunning upsets

2005-02-04T21:05:00.000-08:00

Jamshedpur, 4 February 04:
Thomas Kurien and Utsav Misra produced two of the greatest upsets in recent Indian badminton to enter the semifinals of the 69th National Badminton Championships here last night.
Misra dismissed defending champion Chetan Anand, while Kurien buried the hopes of another title contender, Arvind Bhat, both in three tight games. The third upset was Anup Sridhar's straight games defeat of JBS Vidyadhar. The fourth entrant to the semifinals was warhorse Abhinn Shyam Gupta, who systematically dismantled the challenge of Nikhil Kanetkar.

Among the women, things went more or less according to expectations, except Jwala Gutta's surprise elimination of BR Meenakshi in straight games. Jwala will play Aparna Popat, while hot contender Saina Nehwal will face Trupti Murgunde in the semifinals. There were no surprises in the combined events.

At 14-10 in the third game, with Utsav serving, a stunned silence prevailed in the stadium. Had Chetan Anand's time come? Earlier, on the same court, Thomas, displaying tremendous speed and tenacity, had seen three match points go abegging against Arvind. But then, off the fourth match point, a brief exchange resulted in a drive that Arvind marginally sent wide. Thomas crashed to the court in exultation: he had achieved his first win over the formidable PSPB player, who was expected to win this time.

Utsav's final moments were just as tense. He got his first match point when Chetan, uncharacteristically nervous, sprayed wide. But a long rally followed, and Utsav finally hit wide.
In earlier times, perhaps, Chetan could have salvaged this match. But Utsav was in a different league this time, refusing to give a point even after Chetan had saved four match points. On the fifth, Chetan finally hit a weak return out.

Kurien was astoundingly fast, displayed a brilliant defence to counter Arvind's huge jump smashes, and countered with some big hits of his own. The match showcased sledgehammer blows from either side -- while on an adjacent court, Nikhil played Abhinn, and the match wore on and on, tosses back and forth, as Abhinn sucked the blood out of his opponent. There could not have been a greater contrast than the two matches.

Nikhil's strategy was to suddenly attack, use the clipped smash to surprise Abhinn, and he succeeded in the first game. But as the second game wore on, it took its toll on his lean body. He took too much time between points -- which led to a red card from the chair umpire.

Surprisingly, Nikhil chose to fight out the second game. Players generally prefer to let Abhinn win the second, and rest themselves for the critical third game. But Nikhil fought hard, using the slow drops and high tosses, and suddenly leaping to execute a sliced drop or half smash.

But nothing could perturb Abhinn. He returned everything that Nikhil hurled at him. To Nikhil's credit, he kept up the challenge till late in the third game, even inching at 9-10. But from then on, Abhinn jumped ahead, surprising Nikhil with his aggression and body smashes. After Nikhil earned a break at 13-9, Abhinn jumped at his serve and smashed to the body, then served out at 15-9.

Can Kurien upset Abhinn in the semis? He has never beaten him earlier. Can Anup beat Utsav Misra in the second semis? Can anyone prevent Abhinn from taking his third title? As things stand, Anup looks the likeliest challenger to Abhinn, but he must first dispose off Utsav in the semis.

In any case, Kurien can take heart from his exception performance so far. He came with guns blazing against Arvind, blasting away the high jump smashes from the baseline, then swooping to the net to cut off Arvind's dribble. On balance, Arvind is the more talented player, he has more variety, greater deception, and more equipment. When he won a tight first set, therefore, everyone thought it was a matter of time before Arvind closed it out. The first game itself was tight all the way, right up to 14-all, Kurien serving. But Arvind got the break after he returned a flurry of big smashes, and then closed it out at 17-14.
Somehow, that seemed to dry up Arvind's reserves as Thomas led all the way in the second, with leads of 7-4 and 12-9, before Arvind fought back to make it 12-all. A tense struggle ensued, and Kurien finally inched ahead at 13-12 and 14-12. Arvind threw everything into the challenge, but Kurien resisted bravely, refusing to yield a point at 12-14 to his opponent. Although he missed an easy kill at 14-12, he didn't allow it to disturb him, but held on to take the second set 15-12. He continued with the same momentum to take the third.

Full credit to Anup too, as he edged out Vidyadhar 17-14 17-14. Anup looks far more driven and aggressive, as he constantly shouted encouragement to himself, peaking in a flamboyant: "What's my name!" when he won the first game. He earned a warning from the chair umpire, but the attitude left no doubt in anyone's mind: Anup really wanted this one.

After 14-all in the first game, Anup edged to win in 17. He countered Vidyadhar's big smashes with immaculate length and brilliant net play. Still, there were times when he could do nothing as JBS sent in his big smashes from the baseline.

JBS even led 8-4 in the second, but Anup is perhaps a little tougher this year. Vidyadhar made two errors, even smashing a kill into the net, and compounding that with a dribble error, as ANup came abreast at 7-8, and then 9-all.

JBS inched ahead 11-9, but made a service fault that helped Anup pull up at 11-all.
That went to 13-all, and then 14-all. The momentum suddenly shifted Anup's way as Vidyadhar cracked under pressure to give him the match 17-14, 17-14.

Results: Quarterfinals:
Men's Singles:
Thomas Kurien bt Arvind Bhat 14-17 15-12 15-10; Abhinn Shyam Gupta bt Nikhi Kanetkar 8-15 15-8 15-9; Anup Sridhar bt JBS Vidyadhar 17-14 17-14; Utsav Misra bt Chetan Anand
Women's Singles:
Aparna Popat bt Aparna Balan 11-1 11-1; Trupti Murgunde bt Krishna Deka 13-11 11-3; Saina Nehwal bt Sruti Kurien 11-13 11-8 11-1; Jwala Gutta bt BR Meenakshi 11-7 13-10.

Some courtesy, please

2005-02-02T01:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the inter-state final. PSPB, as expected, won in both the men's and women's sections. They beat Kerala for both titles. Thomas Kurien stretched Arvind Bhat to three games in a tight match, but the surprise was the ease with which Rupesh Kumar and Diju beat Jaseel Ismail and Sanave Thomas. They won 15-2, 15-4.
Jwala and Sruti also disposed off Aparna Balan and Fatima Nazreen with similar ease.

But the attitude of everyone -- players and officials -- during the prize distribution ceremony was disturbing. The chief guest -- a top man at Tata Steel, the sponsors -- was barely listened to as everyone waited restlessly for him to stop speaking. Players waited on the fringe of the court to start their practise as soon as he was done. People kept talking to each other -- which created a disturbing static that interrupted him throughout. There wasn't even polite respect for his short speech.

How do players expect top officials of respected companies to have any consideration for them if they can't show minimum courtesy?

These are areas where we need to learn discipline, courtesy and respect. It isn't enough picking the prize money. One has to respect where that money comes from. The organisers should have ensured silence before he began his speech.

Just before he was through, the players jumped on to the courts and started knocking around. Well, Tata Steel is a good company to have on your side; and the last thing badminton should do is turn them off.

Colourful Opening Ceremony

2005-02-02T01:08:00.000-08:00

The Open events started after a short but interesting opening ceremony. After the mandatory speeches, the audience was treated to a dance performance by two sets of five girls. One set was dressed in jeans and jerseys, and the others in rustic green-and-pink Punjabi.

Both sets danced to the same bit of music, but differently. While the jeans-clad girls did a "modern" version, the other set did a combination of Bharatnatyam and Kathak.

The girls were from the rather curiously titled The Graduate School College for Women. The music was composed by their HoD in Music, Dr Binapani Mahato. Apparently, these girls have presented this dance for three inaugural functions in six days. The other two events before this were the National Archery C'ships and a cricket contest for the blind. The original choreography involved other girls performing the Jharkand folk dance called "Karma" with the other two sets of girls, but they fell ill after performing in the rain last week.

Various people contribute in various ways to an event, but only a few get recognised...

Viruses and badminton

2005-01-27T21:44:00.000-08:00

I've been trying to update this site for sometime now, but kept running into technical glitches. I finally figured it's because my pages were corrupted by a virus.
Hopefully, from now on, updates will be smoother.
The 2005 National Championships begin in Jamshedpur late this month. Aparna Popat will be looking for a record eight consecutive title, while Gopi will seek to cap his remarkable comeback with another National singles title. He has already beaten all his top competitors this year and the Nationals will see one of the great comeback stories in Indian badminton.
All the other contenders for the National title are obvious. Outside hopers could be Utsav Misra and Sachin Ratti in men's singles, but for women's singles one need not look beyond Aparna, Sania, Trupti and Meenakshi, in that order.
Another great comeback story is of Ajit Wijetilak, who has been training for men's singles after having played doubles the last three years. Wijetilak has been training with constant pain in his legs, but don't be surprised if he does well. Some of the more fancied players could be in for a surprise.
Of those missing, Aditi Mutatkar is the most conspicous. She twisted her knee at a camp in Bangalore a few months back. She is recovering well at home in Pune.

Testing

2005-01-26T06:11:00.000-08:00

Just testing. This blog idea for the site looks promising. Suggestions on the look and content of the site are welcome.
-Dev