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.
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Saturday, February 05, 2005
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
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
Friday, February 04, 2005
Day of stunning upsets
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.
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.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
Some courtesy, please
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.
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
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...
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...
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