The Hindu : Sport : Anup stops Olympic champion

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Thursday, Aug 16, 2007
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Anup stops Olympic champion

Saina advances with an upset win; Rupesh-Sanave pair out

— Photo: AFP

GIANT-KILLING ACT: Anup Sridhar described his win over Indonesia’s Taufik Hidayat as the biggest of his career.

KUALA LUMPUR: Anup Sridhar of India showed Indonesia’s Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat the exit door in an enthralling second-round match of the world badminton championships on Wednesday, beating him 21-14, 24-26, 22-20.

After dropping the first set, Hidayat needed six game points before finally clinching the second and looked to be in control at 18-13 in the decider.

However, the lanky, elegant Anup was not to be denied against the 2005 world champion. Two net cords in favour of the Indian levelled the score at 19-19 and when Hidayat smashed long on the next point, the writing was on the wall.

Bravely, the eighth-seeded Hidayat managed to save one match point but succumbed at the next to become the tournament’s biggest casualty to date.

Anup, world No. 41, told reporters: “It’s the biggest win in my career so far and I’m happy it came in a big event like the world championships.”

Anup, who lost in the in the first round of last year’s worlds in Madrid, said: “I think I played quite well today... I don’t think he played too badly but he has played a lot better.”

Anup, a former National champion, next takes on the winner of the match between Muhd Hafiz B. Hashim of Malaysia and Scott Evans of Ireland.

Saina stuns Schenk

In women’s singles, Saina Nehwal also scored an upset win over 13th seed Juliane Schenk of Germany 21-16, 21-10. The win pits her against fourth seed Pi Hongyan of France in the pre-quarterfinals.

However, there was disappointment in the men’s doubles with Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas going down 13-21, 14-21 to the 14th seeded Indonesia pair Hendra A. Gunawan and Joko Riyadi in the second round.

Poland had a rare glimpse of badminton limelight when unseeded men’s doubles pair Michal Logosz and Robert Mateusiak beat last year’s silver medallists Anthony Clark and Robert Blair of England 21-16, 21-16 in their second-round match. — Agencies

The results: Singles (second round):

Men: Park Sung Hwan (Kor) bt Andrew Dabeka (Can) 21-16, 21-5; Simon Santoso (Ina) bt Pablo Abian (Esp) 21-18, 21-15; Lee Hyun Ii (Kor) bt Shoji Sato (Jpn) 21-19, 21-15; Kenneth Jonassen (Den) bt Nicholas Kidd (Eng) 21-14, 21-7; Chen Yu (Chn) bt Bjoern Joppien (Ger) 21-15, 21-7.

Przemyslaw Wacha (Pol) bt Simon Maunoury (Fra) 21-18, 21-10; Anup Sridhar (Ind) bt Taufik Hidayat (Ina) 21-14, 24-26, 22-20; Ronald Susilo (Sin) bt Richard Vaughan (Wal) 21-17, 21-17; Peter Gade (Den) bt Kit Yan Chan (Hkg) 21-18, 25-23; Son y Dwi Kuncoro (Ina) bt Yousuke Nakanishi (Jpn) 21-15, 21-16.

Women: Saina Nehwal (Ind) bt Juliane Schenk (Ger) 21-16, 21-10; Petya Nedeltcheva (Bul) bt Eva Lee (USA) 21-18, 21-8; Pi Hongyan (Fra) bt Charmaine Reid (Can) 21-13, 21-12; Wang Chen (Hkg) bt Li Li (Sin) 21-13, 21-16; Kaori Mori (Jpn) bt Larisa Griga (Ukr) 18-21, 21-14, 21-15; Zhang Ning (Chn) bt Jang Soo Young (Kor) 21-9, 21-14; Xu Huaiwen (Ger) bt Adriyanti Firdasari (Ina) 21-17, 22-20.

Tracey Hallam (Eng) bt Kamila Augustyn (Pol) 15-21, 21-16, 21-11; Wong Mew Choo (Mas) bt Ekaterina Ananina (Rus) 21-14, 22-20; Xie Xingfang (Chn) bt Ana Moura (Por) 21-2, 21-7.

Ella Karachkova (Rus) Yao Jie (Ned) 22-20, 14-21, 21-17; Tine Rasmussen (Den) bt Claudia Rivero (Per) 21-5, 21-6; Yip Pui Yin (Hkg) bt Rachel Hindley (NZ) 21-10 retired; Zhu Lin (Chn) bt Anna Rice (Can) 21-18, 21-13.

Doubles: Men: Hendra Gunawan & Joko Riyadi (Ina) bt Rupesh Kumar & Sanave Thomas (Ind) 21-13, 21-14. — Agencies

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