The Hindu : Lee Chong, Aparna start favourites

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2003

Sport

Sport - Badminton

Lee Chong, Aparna start favourites

By Rakesh Rao

JAIPUR OCT. 21. After P. Gopi Chand's win at the 2001 All England Championship, there hasn't been any great news from the other shuttlers. As a result, on the eve of the Asian Satellite badminton championship, the lack of enthusiasm in the home camp is understandable.

Though National champion Abhinn Shyam Gupta is hopeful of a good showing, one cannot be sure of a twin-success for the Indians over the next three days at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium here.

This championship is significant because it offers ranking points, which in turn can prove crucial in securing a berth for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. No wonder, some of the leading players from Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore have landed here.

Malaysia's men's number five Lee Chong Wei and India's Aparna Popat, both ranked 24 in their respective sections in the world, are the favourites.

Aparna, a bronze medallist in the Commonwealth Games, reached the round of 16 in World Championship in July, and in the German Open and the Malaysian Open last month. Her nearest challengers are Singapore's Li Li and Xiao Luxi, seeded two and four, besides defending champion Thailand's Salakjit Polsana, the third seed.

Li Li, the reigning Commonwealth Games gold medallist, has struggled this season. A quarterfinalist at the Busan Asian Games, the Asian Championship as well as the China Open, she lost in the qualifiers of the Denmark and German open's last month.

Similarly, Xhao Luxi has failed to get past the round-of-32 in seven outings this season. Still she cannot be discounted. Salakjit Polsana, too, is not in any great form but enjoys a psychological edge over Aparna after beating her in the Asian Satellite championship final in Mumbai last August.

Missing from the Indian list is B.R. Meenakshi, nursing a twisted toe. Former National champion Manjusha Kanwar's progress will be watched with interest. This season, Manjusha has come back impressively from injuries.

The men's section will be conspicuous by Gopi's absence. Though he was offered a wild card, he declined it without assigning any reason. The latest in the series of knee-surgeries seems to have taken its toll on his fitness and confidence.

That leaves Abhinn with the task of leading the Indian challenge. Ranked 58th in the world and seeded third here, Abhinn created a flutter in the German Open last month when he ousted former World number one Malaysia's Roslin Hashim 15-11, 8-15, 15-13 in the first round before making the round of 16. This was Abhinn's best performance of the season.

But the man to beat is Lee Chong Wei. The Malaysian is currently enjoying his best season. Runner-up to World number one Chen Hong in the Malaysian Open, Lee Chon Wei also reached the semifinals of the Dutch Open and the quarterfinal of the Denmark Open. His compatriot and second seed Kay Bin Yeoh, ranked 36th in the world, has also shown promise.

Thailand's number two Anupap Thiratsakul, presently placed 64th in the world, is fresh from his quarterfinal appearance in the Denmark Open and obviously keen to continue his form.

Among unseeded players, Chetan Anand along with J. B.S. Vidyadhar, Anup Sridhar, Arvind Bhat and Sanave Thomas have a chance to come good. Interestingly, Sachin Ratti, the only man to beat Gopi twice since the latter won the All England title, is back from an injury suffered this summer.

In the doubles, it is really futile to look beyond the combinations from Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

* The seedings: Men: singles: 1. Lee Chong Wei (Mal), 2. Kay Bin Yeoh (Mal), 3. Abhinn Shyam Gupta (Ind), 4. Anupap Thiratsakul (Tha). Doubles: 1. Hendri Saputra and Denny Setiawan (Sin), 2. Nuttaphon Narkthong and Parnuvat Ngensrisuk (Tha).

Women: singles: 1. Aparna Popat (Ind), 2. Li Li (Sin), 3. Salalijit Polsana (Tha) and Xiao Lu Xi (Sin). Doubles: 1. Yanmei Jiang and Li Yujia (Sin), 2. Duangnong Aroonkesorn and Kunchala Voravichitchaikul (Tha).

Mixed doubles: 1. Hendri Saputra and Li Yujia (Sin), 2. Nuttaphon Narkthong and Kunchala Voravichtchaikul (Tha).

Qualifying results: Men: singles: C.M. Shashidhar bt Mayank Behl 15-6, 15-6; Hemant Duggal bt Joy T. Anothy 15-6, 15-10; Amar Mohite bt Anuj Gupta 15-11, 17-14; K. Srinivasan bt K.R. Shiv Kumar 15-6, 15-9. Doubles: A. Pridhvi and P. Sunil bt Vicky Jaiswal and Joy T. Anthony 15-5, 15-2; Jose George and Ajit Wijetilak bt T. Dinesh and P. Sharat Chandra 15-8, 15-6.

Women: singles: Aditi Biswas bt Neha Makwana 11-4, 11-6; Fatima Nazneen bt Deepti Ranjan 7-11, 13-10, 11-3. Doubles: Aparna Balan and Saina Nehwal bt Aditi Biswas and B. Srilaxmi 15-3, 15-2; Trupti Murgunde and Fatima Nazneen bt Deepti Ranjan and Parul Rawat 15-5, 15-8.

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