ASIAN CHAMPS 2010 – Taufik crashes; Saina cruises

Good day for India as Aditi, Rupesh-Sanave and Diju-Jwala enter quarter-finals.

Sometimes the greatest philosophical insights come from the most offhand statements. When Taufik Hidayat (pictured below) — a genius by any measure — said after losing in the third round to a rank journeyman from Chinese Taipei: “It’s just a match, you know. I played bad. He played well. He won”, it was hard to say if it was the philosopher in him speaking, or an indifferent laggard.

Taufik embodies both. He can play at levels some cannot even dream of; he can also send in an apparition to the court, and that version will have neither mind nor spirit in the match.

Thursday was one of those days. Chinese Taipei’s Hsueh Hsuan Yi (pictured below) couldn’t believe his luck at the end of his 39-minute match, coming away a 22-20 21-16 victor over the top seed from Indonesia and leaving the Badminton Asia Championships bereft of its biggest name.

It was a good day for Indian players though. Top seed Saina Nehwal continued on her merry run, joining compatriot Aditi Mutatkar in the quarterfinals, but fellow-Gopichand Academy trainee P Kashyap was a trifle unlucky to fall in the third round to Hu Yun. Kashyap played bravely and intelligently until a line call in the third game upset him. In the doubles, Rupesh Kumar/ Sanave Thomas and top seeds V Diju/ Jwala Gutta made the quarterfinals.

The story of the day was of course Taufik, who seemed to lose all interest in the match after he lost the first game 22-20. He made another cursory attempt at 10-all in the second game; the rally went on for some 40 strokes, but Hsueh was returning everything, and Taufik wasn’t in the mood to switch gears. After he lost that point, there was nothing left from the Indonesian.

“I’m lucky,” said Hsueh. “Today’s result was above my expectations. I had a stomach ache and a heel problem, but I wanted to do my best.”

Saina Nehwal (pictured top) had it easy in the first set against an opponent who’d beaten her at the India Open in Hyderabad last year. Julia Wong plays a physical game rather similar to Saina’s, but the Malaysian looked rusty to begin with. The second game was tighter; Saina led 8-2 but Julia fought to 8-all and even gained the lead.

“It was hard to control the shuttle from one end,” said Saina. “All the players have had problems.” It was a close battle until 16-all, after which the Indian suddenly pushed ahead. “I decided to rally more and then bring her to the net,” she said. “It worked.”

Saina will next take on the Malaysian Wong Mew Choo, a steady rally player who called it a “50-50 match”.

Aditi Mutatkar, meanwhile, quietly made her way into the quarterfinals by getting past Chinese Taipei’s Chen Hsiao Huan, 23-21 21-11. Chen seemed to have the measure of Aditi, running up a 17-11 lead and four match points at 20-16. The Indian showed great resolve and equalled, and from there Chen melted.

“I couldn’t read her game in the beginning,” said Aditi. “But I decided to fight, and I was surprised when she gave up.” Aditi next takes on Chinese qualifier Liu Xin.

Key results:
MS: 3rd round (pre-quarters): Hu Yun (HKG) bt P Kashyap (IND) 21-16, 18-21, 21-13; 2-Lin Dan (CHN) bt Chou Tien Chen (TPE) 21-8, 21-17; 10-Hafiz Hashim (Mas) bt Nguyen Tien Minh (VIE) 21-19, 14-21, 21-15; Hsueh Hsuan Yi (TPE) bt 1-Taufik Hidayat (INA) 22-20, 21-16
WS: 2nd round (pre-quarters): 1-Saina Nehwal (IND) bt Julia Wong (Mas) 21-14 ,21-16; 7-Wong Mew Choo (MAS) bt Zhang Beiwen (SIN) 20-22, 21-9, 21-14; Aditi Mutatkar (IND) bt Hsiao Huan Chen (TPE) 23-21 21-11
MD: Rupesh Kumar/ Sanave Thomas (IND) bt Patipat/ Thitipong (THA) 21-14, 21-15
WD: (2nd rd): 6-Pan Pan / Tian Qing (CHN) bt Aparna Balan/ Shruti Kurien 21-10, 21-12; 1st rd: Greysia Polii/ M Jauhari (INA) bt Jwala Gutta/ Ashwini Ponnappa (IND) 18-21, 21-15, 21-17
XD: V Diju/ Jwala Gutta (IND) bt Lee Sheng Mu / Chien Yu Chin (TPE) 24-22, 21-15

Full results HERE