The Hindu : Clean sweep by AP shuttlers

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 17, 2002

Sport

Sport - National Games

Clean sweep by AP shuttlers

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD DEC. 16. Host Andhra Pradesh made a clean sweep of the medals up for grabs in the badminton event of the 32nd National Games here today.

AP had earlier won the men's and women's team titles and today on the concluding day of the individual events, AP players lifted the men's and women's singles and the men's and women's doubles golds also.

The men's singles was won by B. Chetan Anand, who defeated Abhinn Shyam Gupta 15-2, 15-11 after a 33-minute match. Chetan said his strategy was to keep Abhinn moving around the court and not allow the UP player to come to the net.

Chetan succeeded with his tactics totally in the first game, in which Abhinn was absolutely out of contention. In the second game also Chetan led 11-6 at one stage before Abhinn fought back and narrowed the margin to 12-10. Thereafter a stiff contest ensued, but Abhinn's luck ran out at the end and Chetan managed to pull off a victory.

In the previous edition in Punjab, Chetan had finished runner-up to P. Gopi Chand. Chetan bagged a second gold here when he won the doubles also with J.B.S. Vidyadhar.

The women's singles was an all-AP affair, as Neelima Choudary took on G. Jwala. The latter had her way in the first game but then Neelima began to find her rhythm and came back strongly. Neelima eventually won 8-11, 11-4, 11-7 after a 43-minute battle. Neelima, who had finished runner-up to P.V.V. Lakshmi on two previous occasions in the National Games, said later that her strategy was to keep Jwala pegged to the back court.

In the first game Neelima was unable to get her shots right but in the second and third she found her length and made maximum use of her experience to get the better of Jwala.

The women's doubles was expectedly won by Jwala and Shruthi Kurien who beat Archana and Manjusha Kanwar of Maharashtra, but the real surprise came in the men's doubles where Chetan Anand and J.B.S. Vidyadhar got the better of the more fancied Jaseel P. Ismail and Jaison Xavier of Kerala.

The results:

Men's singles: B. Chetan Anand (AP) bt Abhinn Shyam Gupta (UP) 15-2, 15-11. Doubles: Chetan Anand/J.B.S. Vidyadhar (AP) bt Jaseel P. Ismail/Jaison Xavier (Ker) 6-15, 15-10, 15-5.

Women's singles: Neelima Choudary (AP) bt G. Jwala (AP) 8-11, 11-4, 11-7. Doubles: G. Jwala/Shruthi Kurien (AP) bt Archana/Manjusha Kanwar (Mah) 8-11, 13-10, 11-9.

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