Chetan, Aparna take crowns

By Kalyan Ashok

BANGALORE, AUG. 11. Chetan Anand and Aparna Popat could not have asked for more. In a tailor-made finish, the two claimed the men's and women's singles crowns respectively and savoured every moment of their triumph at the BPL-Asian Satellite badminton championship, which concluded at the Karnataka Badminton Association Stadium here today.

The third-seeded Chetan Anand beat Allan Tai of Malaysia 15-11, 15-7 after second-seeded Aparna Popat set the stage for an Indian bash with a 11-5, 11-4 win over top-seeded B.R. Meenakshi. Chetan Anand also won $1200, while Aparna claimed $900. Allan Tai and Meenakshi claimed $900 and $500 respectively.

For the 21-year-old Chetan Anand, the National junior champion in 1999, it was maiden success in the senior ranks and the fact that it came in an international meet, had him on cloud nine. For Aparna, the 23-year-old, four-time National champion, the victory ended a prolonged absence from the international and National circuits.

Chetan Anand today deserved every bit of adulation that he received from the home crowd. The 21-year-old, who was always on the fringe with a lot of promise, came back in dramatic fashion to script a memorable victory in 55 minutes after trailing 1-10 in the first game. Chetan Anand played a good mix of half smashes and strong net play. This ward of coach, Bhaskar Babu from Vijayawada, should now go far in the game.

At the outset, Chetan had problems with the shuttle, while Allan Tai, who set a scorching pace, kept attacking strongly from the back court. The Malaysian's aggression paid off as he kept piling up points. But down 1-10, Chetan Anand was down but not out. He slowed down the pace while Allan Tai, who lowered his guard with some casual play in that crucial phase, paid the price.

With the crowd roaring each point, Chetan Anand powered his way back, finding his rhythm and controlling the tussle at the net. He took 10 points at a canter on his serve, trailing 2-10 and jumped to a 12-10 lead. Tai got panicky and began spraying his strokes. Chetan Anand closed the game at 15- 11.

The crowd went delirious with that effort and a charged up Chetan was on the `go' right from the start in the second game. Tai, who slowed down, made several unforced errors, putting too many returns over the lines and found himself looking down the barrel at 2-7. He did pull up to 5-7, but Chetan did not allow him further leeway and kept hitting winners and raced away to match point. Allan Tai, stalled the inevitable for a while, before Chetan sealed his stamp of supremacy with a classy net dribble.

``It is good to win a major title and being the first of my career at the senior level, it gives me special joy. I should now concentrate on performing well at international meets. In this tie, though I was down 1-10, I was staying focussed on getting my game back and moving to the net, I was able to take control,'' said Chetan Anand.

The 21-year-old Allan Tai, while complimenting Chetan, felt that a couple of long-drawn encounters earlier in the tournament, had sapped him. ``I could not really play the way I wanted,'' said the Malaysian junior champion.

Aparna Popat kept intact her unbeaten streak against B.R. Meenakshi. The title clash between the top two players in the country had its share of fizz.

Though Aparna was superior, she had a testing time whenever Meenakshi's stinging half smashes caught her on low backhand. But Meenakshi couldn't pull that stuff too often as Aparna moved her around and caught her napping with some stunning flicks and smashes.

Aparna, though trailing 1-5 in the first game, quickly sized up the situation and came up with a brilliant all-court display to rattle her rival. Aparna levelled at 5-5, with Meenakshi's toss sailing over the baseline. From then onwards, Aparna grabbed the controls and she did not concede a single point and won 11-5.

A flustered Meenakshi, lost ground early in the second game. She trailed 0-4 before getting to striking distance at 4-5. A few negative points at this stage saw Meenakshi again pushed back. Aparna stepped up the pace and pressure and closed out the game and match at 11-4.

``It is good to be back with a good win. My semifinal round was a little harder. I have to be really focussed now and get back my world ranking. After this, I am going for the senior ABC championship starting on August 21 and I keep my fingers crossed for a good show,'' said Aparna, who has now shifted her base of training from PPBA to SAI South Centre here under Ganguly Prasad.

Meenakshi felt that she had played too many matches in the tournament. ``I was actually in three finals, including the women's and mixed doubles. It was too much of an effort and I should avoid that in future. I could have played much better today, but I did not move well,'' said Meenakshi, who had won the Satellite title last year at Hyderabad.

The Malaysians proved their prowess in doubles, as Rosman Razak and Ng Kean Kok won the title, with a hard fought 11-15, 15-13, 15-2 win over the Thai pair of Kitipon Kitkul and Sudket Prapakamol.

The results (all finals. Indians unless specified):

Men's singles: Chetan Anand bt Allan Tai (Mas) 15-11, 15-7.

Women's singles: Aparna Popat bt B.R. Meenakshi 11-5, 11-4.

Men's doubles: Rosman Razak/Ng Kean Kok (Mas) bt Kitipon Kitkul/Sudket Prapakamol (Tha) 11-15, 15-13, 15- 2.

Mixed doubles: G. Jwala/J.B.S. Vidhyadhar bt B.R. Meenakshi/Sandesh Choutha 15-10, 11-15, 15-9.

Mainaky-Xuanz final

BRUNEI, AUG. 11. Marleve Mainaky of Indonesia will take on China's Xia Xuanz in the summit clash of the World Grand Prix badminton championship here tomorrow.

Mainaky, who outplayed India's Pullela Gopi Chand in the quarterfinal yesterday, scalped World No. 1 China's Chen Hong 2- 7, 7-1, 7-5, 7-5, while Xuanz won a topsy-turvy encounter against Malaysian Rosli Hashim 3-7, 7-4, 8-7, 0-7, 7-0.

The women's singles final will be an all-Chinese affair after the last challenger, Hong Kong's Wang Chen, was packed off by World No. 1 Zhou Mi 7-0, 7-5, 7-4. Zhou will now meet Olympic champion and fourth seed Gong Zhichao, who beat compatriot and former World No. 1 Dai Yun 7-3, 4-7, 7-2, 7-0.

- PTI

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