Saina, Jwala-Diju crash out

Hyderabad, Aug 14 (PTI) Indian challenge ended in the World
Badminton Championship with ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and mixed
doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju crashing out of the tournament
after losing their respective matches here today.
Saina produced a gallant fight against second seed Lin Wang but
the better prepared Chinese made few mistakes and outlasted the Indian
22-20 21-19 a 39-minute battle to reach the semifinals where she meets
compatriot Lu Lan.
In the mixed doubles event, Jwala-Diju fell prey to defending
champions and second seeded Indonesian combo of Nova Widianto and
Liliyana Natsir 6-21 14-21 in just 27 minutes.
In a day marked by a series of upsets, top seeds Malaysian Lee
Chong Wei and Zhou Mi of Hong Kong also crashed out of the world
badminton championship after suffering contrasting defeats in the
men's and women's singles event.
World number one Lee failed to live upto the expectation as
Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro produced the biggest upset of the
tournament, dispatching the Malaysian 21-16 14-21 21-12 in an hour
hard-fought battle.
On the other hand, Chinese Xingfang Xie proved too could for the
world number one Zhou. She beat her 21 -15 21-18 in a match that
lasted for 47 minutes.
Among others in fray, eighth seed Hongyan Pi from france bounced
back from a game down to tame 11th seed German Juliane Schenk 15-21
21-15 21-19 in a match that lasted for more than an hour, while
Seventh seed Lan Lu stunned third seed Tine Rasmussen 21-15 21-13 in
just over an half an hour match.
In the men’s singles, Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia survived a
scare from Dane Jan O Jorgensen and beat him 21-19 21-19 in a
42-minute clash, while second seed Chinese Jin Chen beat 13th seed
Simon Santoso of Indonesia 21-10 21-13 in 43 minutes.
Fifth seed and defending champion Chinese Dan Lin also staved
off the challenege from third seed Peter Hoeg Gade 22-20 21-16 in
49-minute match.
Saina had a rusty start as she allowed Lin to open up a seven
point lead at 8-1 and even though the Hyderabadi drew parity with a
power-puffed smash at 11-11, she couldn’t keep the momentum till the
end.
The world number six took a different approach in the next game
and involved in more long rallies and smashed hard every time the
shuttle went up to secure a eight point lead at 9-1 but the Chinese
was better prepared and reeled off eight points at 10-2 to claw back
into the game and moved neck and neck till 19-19 before wrapping up
the match.
“She was better prepared today. She was defending well. I made a
few silly mistakes but I am happy with my performance. She played
better in the nets and involved in more tabs and pushes which shows
she was prepared,” Saina said.
“I reached the pre-quarters in 2007 and this time I have reached
quarters and I have beaten the top 10 players so I’m satisfied,” she
added.
Her coach Pullela Gopichand also lauded Saina’s effort
especially coming off from a chicken pox bout just 10 days before the
tournament.
“Saina played well, may be could have played better but I feel
she played with rhythm. Recovering from a chicken pox and playing so
well, I couldn’t have aske dfor any thing better,” Gopichand said.
Earlier in the day, Jwala-Diju squandered a three point lead at
9-6 to eventually lose the first game.
The second game was also a lost opportunity as after moving 5-5
initially, the Indian pair couldn’t keep the momentum and was left
doing the catch up act as the Indonesian played a very tactical game
to outplay the Indians.
“We played the way they wanted us to play, which was not cleaver
in any way. WE were playing close to their body and they were more
then comfortable,” Diju said.
“They dominated us completely. They defended our smashes well and
I feel I tried to hurry things up. I should have slowed down and
played long rallies. I lost my patience,” Jwala said.
Meanwhile, after crashing out of the tournament, Lee Chong wei
said he had no clue what went wrong in his game.
"I just couldn't play well today. I had pulled things back in
the second game but I
don't know what happened in the second game," Lee said.
"Sony is no ordinary player, he has beaten me before and he raised his
bar today. I wasn't under any pressure nor I had any problem with the
conditions," he added.
Sony, on the other hand, said he kept attacking and played a brave match
against his rival which paid dividends at the end.
"I have beaten this guy before. I didn't worry before the match. In the
first game, I played a brave match. My stretegy was to attack. I knew that if
I slowed down the game, Lee would beat me. I played smart whenever I got a
chance I attack.
"In the second game, I was mentally down and that's why i lost. I guess
my biggest opponent is me myself," he said.
In the women’s singles, Xingfang felt it was patience and
keeping her cool in crucial moments was the key of her success.
"It was a very close match even though the scoreline might suggest
otherwise. I was more patient then Zhou especially in the second game when we
both were 18-all, I held my nerves and didn't commit any mistake," Xingfang
said.
World number eight Hongyan was also very happy to reach her
maiden world championship quarters and said it was her lucky place.
“I can’t explain how happy I am today,” she said.
“I guess this place is lucky for me,” said Hongyan, won the
Indian Open in March here.
“I was confident but she played really well and kept a high
tempo. I had to be more tactical as she was changing her game too
often. She started off well but I kept teklling myself that I have to
belief in myself. It was a high pressure game,” she said.
But the World number eight said she was not expecting Juliane in
the quarters.
“I was not expecting her but after she won yesterday I had to
change my mind and my game plan,” she said. PTI ATK