Bajaj too good for defending champ

Bajaj said that he came in with a set strategy to outwit the former India No 1 player. “My strategy was simple — not to play to Bakshiji’s strengths. I knew that if I get drawn into longer rallies at the net,he would consume me. Instead I decided to play the length game,hitting long and dropping short every alternate stroke. The ploy worked,” the seventh seed said.

Bakshi,too,admitted that it was probably more a physical defeat rather than a mental one. “It was just impossible for me to play in the heat. Although I am not giving an excuse for losing this match,the weather was unbearable,” the 39-year-old said. “I usually expect a good player to destroy somebody my age with purely their game,but that was not the case today,” the defending champion explained.

While the top three seeded players — Davinder Dhillon,Tanvir Gill and Abhinav Prakash — had already booked their berths in the semi-final before the commencement of Bajaj’s quarter-final match,his win against Bakshi made sure that the semi-final line-up did not register the top four seeds in the tournament.

“Well,that’s how it goes. When I was just a little boy,I had heard of Shrikant Bakshi’s exploits at the National Games when he had entered the tournament as a qualifier before going on the win the event. I’m glad that I have made it and I know it’s not going to be easy,” Bajaj said.

While Bajaj takes on second-seeded Gill in the semi-final,top seed Dhillon is set to take on Prakash. But having already won the state championships three years back,Bajaj is hoping for a repeat performance.