Jwala-Ashwini pair loses in semifinals, settles for bronze

London: India's Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa lost 14-21, 16-21 to Chinese fifth-seeded pair of Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in the women's doubles semi-final of the World Badminton Championship to settle for a bronze medal.



Jwala and Ashwini were impressive in flashes but failed to keep up with the Chinese pair, and went down in 38 minutes Saturday night.

It was the pair's first medal in the World Championships and also of the country in 28 years.

Jwala and Ashwini, ranked 21, did well to rally from 2-6 down to 8-8 in the first game but slumped to a rash of errors to go down.

The Chinese continued in the same vein to take a 11-6 lead in the second game but Jwala with a terrific net play and Aswini supporting from the backcourt bridged the gap to 16-17. But the Chinese soon upped the ante to reel off four points to wrap up the game and the match.

Their semifinal finish will propel Jwala and Ashwini three places to 18 and will boost their chances of qualifying for the Olympics. — IANS

Saina ousted, jwala-ashwini ENTER SEMIS TO SCRIPT HISTORY

LONDON: India’s World No 6 Saina Nehwal’s quarter-final jinx continued as she lost to China’s World No 3 Wang Xin in the World Championships art the Wembley Arena here yesterday. Saina, who also stumbled at this very stage in the last two editions of the tournament, went down 15-21, 10-21.

However, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa made history by becoming India’s first-ever women’s doubles pair to reach the last four stage of the World Championships. The Commonwealth Games gold medallists beat the 12th seed Indonesian pair of Vita Marissa and Nadya Melati

17-21 21-10 21-17 in a keenly fought 47-minute encounter. The World No 21 duo next take on fifth seeds Qing Tian and Yunlei Zhao of China, who edged out fourth seeds Mizuki Fujii and Reika Kakiiwa of Japan 21-16 21-10 in their quarter-final match yesterday. — Agencies

Badminton: New skirt rules cause unease

A new ruling that requires female badminton players to wear skirts on court is causing unease among players as they prepare to adopt the new compulsory dress code.

In pic: Jwala Gutta

The Indian Open, which begins next Tuesday, will be the last tournament in which women can wear shorts on court before the skirt requirement comes into force on May 1.

The Badminton World Federation (BWF) announced the change in 2009 in a bid to boost the sport's profile among viewers and sponsors.

Doubles specialist and Indian glamour girl Jwala Gutta, who has always played in skirts, said the new dress code might help to raise interest but players should not be forced to conform.

"You cannot make it compulsory for everyone to wear skirts. It depends on each individual and their comfortable level. I am not sure people will like being told what to wear and what not to," she said.

World number three Saina Nehwal, the top seed at the April 26-May 1 Indian Open, is one of the many players in India who prefers to wear shorts on court.

Gutta, who won the Commonwealth Games gold last year with her partner Ashwini Ponnapa, endorsed efforts to make the sport more glamorous.

She said that interest in tennis was greater partly because of the attraction of female stars such as Maria Sharapova or the Williams sisters, whose on-court outfits are often as remarked about as their game.

India's top female tennis player Sania Mirza came under fire from Muslim clerics four years back for wearing short skirts on court.

"Anything that helps makes the sport attractive should be welcomed," said the 27-year-old Gutta, whose eye-catching looks and daring dress sense on and off court have won her a loyal following at home.

"But instead of enforcing rules on players, the federation should ask sponsors to come up with innovative dresses.

"You can add a lot of colour, experiment with styling and stuff like that. That way it will ensure players' comfort and take care of the glamour aspect as well."

Another Indian player, who asked not to be named, said she was uncomfortable with the new ruling.

"I wear skirts or dresses only on special occasions, but never in tournaments," she said. "Skirts hamper my movement when I play."

Despite rapid modernisation, India remains a generally conservative country where public displays of sexuality are taboo and women are expected to dress modestly. —AFP

Saina ousted, India's campaign ends in All England

It was supposed to be her best chance of winning the coveted title but Saina Nehwal let it slip as she went down in straight games to unseeded Japanese Eriko Hirose in the quarterfinals of the prestigious All England Badminton Championship here.

The fifth-seeded Saina, who was expected to win at the event given teh absence of some top Chinese players, lost 21-11 22-20 to her little-known Japanese rival yesterday. The match was contested evenly to start with but Hirose, who was a semifinalist at the event once before as well, took control by breaking through the rallies that Saina generally wraps up in her favour.

Saina came back in the second game and it went neck and neck but the Indian ultimately fell short as Hirose held her nerves to clinch the issue. With Saina's loss, India's campaign at the event ended as all her compatriots had already crashed out in previous rounds. —PTI

Saina storms into All England quarters, all other Indians out Birmingham

Title contender Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal stormed into the quarterfinals of the All England Badminton Championships women's single competition with a straight-set victory over her Chinese Taipei opponent here.


In pic: Saina Nehwal in action

Saina, seeded fifth in the prestigious tournament, beat unseeded Tzu Ying Tai 21-17 21-17 in a second round match that lasted 30 minutes. In the quarterfinals, she will meet Eriko Hirose of Japan who beat Salakjit Ponsana of Thailand 21-13 18-21 21-13 in another round two match last night. Saina dominated her rival at the nets and in smashes and in both the sets she was the one who made the final flourish after a stiff contest.

The first set saw neck-on-neck tussle between the two as they were 8-8 and then 14-14. But after that, Saina won five consecutive points to race to 19-14 before taking the set. In the second set also, there was a stiff fight from the Chinese Taipei player and the two were locked 17-17 before Saina took four consecutive points to wrap up the match.

Saina now remained the only Indian shuttler left in the tournament as all her compatriots have already crashed out. In the mixed doubles, V Diju and Jwala Gutta lost to fifth seeded Chinese pair of Tao Jiaming and Qing Tian 11-21 12-21 in a round two match. In the women's doubles also, Indian duo of Gutta and Ashiwni Ponnappa suffered heartbreak as they lost to Denmark's Line Damkjaer Kruse and Marie Roepke 17-21 21-19 21-18 in a hard-fought second round match that lasted 53 minutes.

In the men's doubles, Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas lost to eighth seeded Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Bona Septano 16-21 16-21 in the second round. In men's singles, P Kashyap, Anand Pawar and Ajay Jayaram had already crashed out of the tournament in the first round. —PTI

Saina in second round of All England

India's ace shutter Saina Nehwal got past Seung Hee Bae of South Korea 21-13, 21-16 to enter the second round of the women's singles event at the All England Badminton Championships.


In pic: Saina Nehwal in action

World No.5 Saina won the first set comfortably but toiled hard in the second as she faced problems in adjusting to the drift at the National Indoor Arena here Wednesday. The Indian next faces Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei.

"I was making a lot of mistakes initially. I was not able to adjust to the drift which was on either side of the court. It was quite unusual to see that because normally it is fast on one side and slow on the other," said Saina after the match.

Saina has an easier draw in the tournament after World No.2 Wang Yihan of China pulled out at the last minute due to injury.

Meanwhile, it was disappointment for India in the other matches.

Parupalli Kashyap, Ajay Jayaram and Anand Pawar lost their opening round matches in the men's singles. —IANS

Gutta-Ponnappa in All England doubles 2nd Rd

Indian women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa made a winning start while Anand Pawar crashed out in men's singles of the All Englnd Badminton Championships at Birmingham today.

In pic: Jwala Gutta (R) and Ashwini Ponnappa

Gutta and Ponnappa needed 23 minutes to send the Danish duo of Maria Helsbol and Anne Skelbaek packing 21-11 21-18 in the first round match. In the second round, the Indian pair will take on Danish qualifiers Damkjaer Kruse and Marie Roepke who stunned seven seeded Indonesian duo of Meiliana Jauhari and Greysia Polii in another first round match.

Meanwhile, Anand Pawar went down fighting 16-21 18-21 to Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in a men's singles first round match which lasted 31 minutes. Both the players had made it to the main draw after playing in the qualifying round. —PTI

A dream come true, says Saina

"It is like a dream come true," Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal said on Sunday after defeating China's Shixian Wang to win the Hong Kong Open Super Series. "I am very happy that I am finishing the year like this. It is like a dream come true," Saina told TimesNow television channel.

She said it was really important to win the Hong Kong Open after the Asian Games where she failed to make a mark.

In pic: Saina Nehwal flaunts her gold medal after winning the Hong Kong Open badminton Super Series/AP

Saina defeated Chinese champion Shixian 15-21, 21-16, 21-17 to claim her career's fourth Super Series badminton title and the third of the year.

She said that after losing the first game, she became confident "because I was moving well on the court... I knew she would hit some strokes... The third was set was very crucial.

"I was very, very confident throughout. I was always confident after the second game."

Saina said she wanted to prove herself. "Winning this match was very important for me. I am really happy." -IANS

Saina Nehwal wins in Hong Kong Open

Press Trust of India,

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal cruised into the second round of the Hong Kong Super Series with a comfortable straight-game win over Tsz Ka Chan in Wanchai on Wednesday.

World number two and Commonwealth Games gold medallist, Saina defeated Chan 21-16 21-18 in half an hour match in the women's singles event to set up a clash against Salakjit Ponsana of Thailand. Ponsana defeated Hsiao Huan Chen 21-18 21-13 in her first round match.

Among Indian men, CWG bronze medallist P Kashyap also crossed the first hurdle with a gruelling three-game win over Chinese Taipei's Yu Hsing Hsieh in the singles.

The Indian fought past Hsieh 21-14 19-21 21-18 in an hour and four minute encounter. He will next face fifth seed Jin Chen of China on Thursday.

However, disappointment was in store for other two Indians in fray - Aravind Bhat and RMV GurusaiDatt.

While Bhat went down to Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 13-21 21-23, Gurusaidutt fought his heart before going down 12-21 21-19 13-21 to local favorite Wing Ki Wong.