The Hindu : Sport / Badminton : Contrasting wins for Gopichand, Aparna

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 14, 2004

Sport

Sport - Badminton

Contrasting wins for Gopichand, Aparna

By Our Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW, DEC. 13. "This is a good victory for me, but a bad sign for Indian badminton." P. Gopichand made a telling statement both on and off the field as hedethroned Chetan Anand 15-12, 12-15, 15-13 in a 97-minute thriller to regain the singles honours in the $20,000 Syed Modi International badminton at the K.D. Singh `Babu' Stadium hall here on Monday.

Earlier, Aparna Popat needed just 17 minutes to crush Malaysia's second seed Wong Mew Choo 11-3, 11-1 in one of the most one-sided finals of her career.

he title triumph, worth Rs. 1,10,000, was Gopichand's second of his comeback season after the Asian Satellite Championship in Hyderabad in October. The victory also helped him maintain an all-win record against Chetan, who received Rs. 55,000.

For Aparna, now a six-time winner here, it was sweet revenge after having lost to the pony-tailed girl in their last two meetings in Malaysia earlier this year. Aparna opened a seven-point lead in the first game and finished the match in a flash by winning the last eight points of the second. Wong could not keep the shuttle in play for long while her defence failed against Aparna's calculated assault. Aparna received Rs. 90,000 and Wong, $1,006.

After taking care of Arvind Bhat, Anup Sridhar and now Chetan in successive matches, Gopichand had the right to comment on the trio.

"I think they have to improve in all departments. They need to work on their speed, strength and strokes if they have to make it big," said Gopichand who had beaten Chetan in straight games when they last met in the PSCB inter-unit meet a couple of months back.

Best chance

Chetan knew this was his best chance to beat Gopichand. Down 7-12 in the second game, Chetan left Gopichand stranded to level the match. In the decider, too, he looked like scripting a similar rally when he clawed back from 6-13 to make it 13-14. However, in the end, Gopichand's mental strength provided the decisive difference.

In the men's doubles final, the top seeds Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas were looking for revenge as they had lost to Jaseel Ismail and V. Diju, seeded two, in three finals this season. This time, they got it right with a comfortable 15-12, 15-8 victory in 53 minutes. Rupesh and Thomas collected Rs. 60,000 while Ismail and Diju shared Rs. 40,000.

Wong Mew Choo again finished second best when she lost the women's doubles final against the favourites Shruti Kurian and G. Jwala. The Indian pair overcame a stiff challenge in the second game before taking the honours with a 15-5, 17-15 victory. The winning pair claimed Rs. 55,000 and the runner-up got $782.

The results (finals): Men: singles: P. Gopichand bt Chetan Anand 15-12, 12-15, 15-13. Doubles: Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas bt Jaseel P. Ismail and V. Diju 15-12, 15-8.

Women: singles: Aparna Popat bt Wong Mew Choo (Malaysia) 11-3, 11-1. Doubles: Shruti Kurian and G. Jwala bt Wong Mew Choo and Anita Raj Kaur (Malaysia) 15-5, 17-15.

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