LONDON, MARCH 10: National champion Aparna Popat kept Indian hopes alive as she fought her way into the third round of the women's singles in the All England Badminton Championships, here on Thursday.The World No. 26, the lone Indian left in the fray, stumbled in the first set that saw both wage a close battle.But Aparna, a first-round winner over Aussie Rayoni Head and focussed on making it to the Sydney Olympics, fought back to down Karolina on extra points in the second before clinching the decider 11-8.But Indian hopes in men's singles ended when National No. 2 Nikhil Kanetkar and Sidharth Jain were eliminated in the second round. Southpaw Kanetkar went down 8-15, 5-15 to Ismail Saman of Malaysia.The tall Sidharth Jain fought superbly against a superior Budi Santoso of Indonesia after wresting the first set, but eventually lost steam to go down 15-13, 11-15, 7-15.Meanwhile, Ye Zhaoying, who had been trying to become the first player for 36 years to win women's singles title four times in a row, crashed out in the third round.The World No 1 from China, one of the most skillful strokemakers the game has ever seen, was beaten 11-9, 11-9 by a player many thought was lost for ever to the top level game, the former Mia Tjiptawan nee Audina.Though Tjiptawan has lost her World top ten ranking and some of her physical condition, her performance suggested she has not lost many of her skills, the most conspicuous of which is the most acrobatic range of round-the-head shots in the game.Many were played from near impossible positions, enabling tjiptawan to clear the shuttle when it appeared that it had gone past her. But the basis of her win was her clever flicks and lifts from the forecourt and wonderful touch and disguise at the net.Earlier, the other top-seeded defending singles champion was nearly beaten as well. Peter Gade trailed by a game and 4-9 against the 18-year-old Thai Boonsak Poltana before recovering to win 13-15, 15-12, 15-4.
