The Hindu : Sport / Badminton : AP has a chance to upset Kerala

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Wednesday, Sep 28, 2005

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Sport - Badminton

AP has a chance to upset Kerala

Sports Reporter

Tirupur: Kerala is a State that has been producing talented players year after year. At the last senior Nationals it was second best, but only to the strong Petroleum team. And in doubles, the Indian top ten chart is packed with players from Kerala. Still, the men's defending champion was a worried team on the eve of the South Zone inter-State badminton championship at the Tirupur City Club indoor stadium here on Wednesday.

Kerala's star, senior National semifinalist and India No. 7, Thomas Kurian, is yet to recover fully from the ankle injury he suffered at the State championship a few weeks ago.

"Thomas has just resumed playing, he is not very fit. We're not sure whether he would play the singles," said former national champion and Arjuna Awardee George Thomas. "We are confident about the doubles but if Thomas is not fit, the singles could be a problem. Andhra is strong in all the singles and that gives the team a strong advantage," said George.

Apart from Thomas Kurian, Kerala has National doubles champion Sanave Thomas, State champion K.A. Anish, Joy T. Antony, Jaison Xavier and George Thomas in its ranks.

Strong pack

Andhra Pradesh, last year's runner-up, has a strong pack which includes J.B.S. Vidhyadhar, S.D.S. Krishna, Srinivas and young P. Kashyap. "We are a balanced team and our chances are pretty bright compared to last year. But, we want to clear the semifinal hurdle against Karnataka first before thinking about," said Baskar Babu, the AP coach.

"Our team spirit is also quite different. We are not bothered about which team we are playing. Our boys are well prepared and we have faith that they will dish out their best," he added.

It's nearly a quarter century since Tamil Nadu won the South Zone men's honours but this time, the team has some prominent names in former French Open champion Siddharth Jain, Sharath Chandran and Vijay Anand.

"It's a good team, so don't write us off," said Sanjiv Sachdeva, the TN coach.

Saina's problem

In the women's section, specialist Saina Nehwal may not play for her State, AP, as she had joined the Petroleum team. However, Baskar did not rule out the possibility as Saina had requested the Petroleum team for permission.

"Saina's presence will do the team a world of good, but even without her the team is pretty strong. Sharadha, Sri Laxmi and Ashwini Chowdhary are all international players and they will do the job for us," said Baskar.

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