The Hindu : Sport / Archery : Chetan, Bhat in final

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Sport - Archery

Chetan, Bhat in final

S.R. Suryanarayan

PANAJI: B. Chetan Anand will meet Arvind Bhat in the men’s singles final of the Senior National badminton championship at the SAG indoor facility here on Sunday.

Chetan ended the run of top seed Anup Sridhar (PSPB), while Arvind defeated the last year’s finalist Anand Pawar (Air-India) in the semifinals on Saturday.

In the women’s section, the defending champion Saina Nehwal had it easy against Aparna Balan. Saina will take on the former junior champion and second seed Trupti Murgunde in the title-round. Trupti (PSPB) beat Aditi Mutatkar. Like the men’s the women’s final will also be an all-PSPB affair.

Expectedly the Chetan-Anup match was the keenly watched event and the contest had its twist and turns before proving a heart-breaker for Anup.

Rallying

Chetan began unleashing smashes and clipping the bird to the corners with admirable control. At the net Chetan’s subtle touches further dampened Anup’s mood. But Anup clawed back from arrears (2-6 and 6-11) to draw level (15-15). Using his height and reach he surprised Chetan with some deep flicks and sliced drops.

Chetan kept his focus. He used his ability at the net to good purpose, once even tipping the shuttle caressingly over the net chord to draw a round of applause. For no reason Anup allowed pressure to overwhelm him and there were moments when this champion player seemed lost for the right stroke. Smashes went into net and deep returns into the corridors, things that helped Chetan to wrest the initiative again.

Anup’s collapse was evident when he not only conceded the second game but also slipped from 5-11 to 5-15 in one go in the decider.

Telling smashes

In comparison Bhat never allowed things to pass against Anand Pawar. Pawar had a big semifinal success against P. Kashyap on Friday but Bhat was a different proposition.

Known for his attacking approach Bhat bagged points with telling smashes.

The tall player also showed his prowess at the net to complete Anand’s agony. Barring the occasional burst of aggression, Pawar faded away.

The women’s semifinals lacked intensity. Aparna Balan made a late attempt when all seemed over while Aditi who had accounted for Trupti at the last nationals could not regain the touch in what was a slow paced match.

The results: Men’s singles (semifinals): B. Chetan Anand (PSPB) bt Anup Sridhar (PSPB) 17-21, 21-17, 21-10; Arvind Bhat (PSPB) bt Anand Pawar (AI) 21-16, 21-17. Doubles (semifinals): Rupesh Kumar (PSPB) & Sanave Thomas (Ker) bt Alwin Francis & Sanker P. Gopan (Ker) 21-12, 21-17; Akshay Dewalkar (AI) & V. Diju (PSPB) bt Jaseel Ismail (PSPB) & Jose George (Ktk) 17-21, 21-17, 21-16.

Women’s singles (semifinals): Saina Nehwal (PSPB) bt Aparna Balan (PSPB) 21-5, 21-14; Trupti Murgunde (PSPB) bt Aditi Mutatkar (PSPB) 21-17, 21-17. Doubles (semifinals): Shruti Kurien & Jwala Gutta (PSPB) bt Sonal More & Sampada Sahasrabude (Mah) 21-7, 21-6; Aparna Balan & Saina Nehwal (PSPB) bt Ashwini Ponappa & Nitya Sosale (Kar) 21-10, 21-14. Doubles (final): Jwala Gutta & Shruti Kurien (PSPB) bt Aparna Balan & Saina Nehwal (PSPB) 21-13, 21-11. Mixed doubles (final): Jwala Gutta & V. Diju (PSPB) bt Aparna Balan & Akshay Dewalkar (PSPB) 21-8, 21-12. Semifinals: Aparna Balan & Akshay Dewalkar bt B. Srilaxmi & J.B.S. Vidyadhar (AP) 21-12, 21-9; Jwala Gutta & V. Diju bt Megha Merin Ninan & Ram C. Vijay (Ker) 21-3, 21-10.