Chetan Anand hops into final

Anand will play Thai Boonsak Ponsana in the final.

Unlike his semi-final win over China’s Chen Yu, there were no heroics this time around.

Smith’s unorthodox style bordered on conventional cluelessness — leaden-feet, repeated errors at the net and an utter lack of effort to return anything when rooted mid-court.

Anand didn’t seem to have a problem with that though, as he became the first Indian to make it to a Grand Prix Gold final since its recent introduction.

Nikhil Kanetkar had made the final of a two-star event in a US tournament in 1999.

Match of skills

The final against Ponsana offers the burgeoning crowds of Hyderabad a match-up between two highly skilled players — arguably the most talented in their respective countries right now. (It offers Anand ignition-keys to a Chevrolet, an incentive announced by the state association if he wins.)

The difference in ranking (Anand’s 71 against Ponsana’s 12) might weigh heavily against the Indian, but they go into the final 1-1 in head-to-head encounters.

Not an all-out attacker, Ponsana is known to play classical shuttle — deft touches and smart variations of pace in rallies. These qualities were on display during his come-from-behind 19-21, 21-14, 21-15 semi-final win against the bazooka-smashing Japanese Sho Sasaki.

Battling injury and a drop in confidence, the Athens semi-finalist has seen his ranking slip six places from a career-high six.

Anand seems to be in the zone though. “I’ve always done well at Hyderabad, and I’ll make sure I don’t let my guard down,” he promised.

And while both prefer to use deft touches and wristy placements, the home crowd — and Anand himself — will settle for any sort of win.

The women’s final will be a battle between two tall girls — Lu Lan of China and Mi Zhou of Hong Kong. But it is anybody’s guess what would lift the crowd’s mood higher.