Good move to pair Gopi with Vincent

When Kitikul Kitipon of Thailand hit the last tap into the net, the Indira Gandhi indoor stadium erupted into a thunderous applause India ...

When Kitikul Kitipon of Thailand hit the last tap into the net, the Indira Gandhi indoor stadium erupted into a thunderous applause India had done it.History was repeated after 12 years it was in 1988 that India had beaten Thailand at the same venue to enter the final rounds. At that time, it was Prakash Padukone who had played a pivotal role. Today, it was our reigning national champion Pullela Gopi Chand who was the chief architect of Indian victory.

Abhinn Shyam Gupta has perfected his defensive game, backed up by seemingly inexhaustible stamina and impossible retrieves to an extent that most opponents are at a loss to attack or rally, because everything seems to be coming back.

It was a good move on the part of the Indian team management to have fielded Siddharth Jain in place of Nikhil Kanetkar, whose form here has not been consistent. That also pushed up Abhinn for the second singles, improving India’s chances in the crucial match. Another good move, was to field Gopi in doubles with VincentLobo.

The second Thai pair, ranked No 30 was better, but both Gopi and Lobo played brilliantly to give India the winning lead. Otherwise, it would have gone to the wire, a singles in which Siddharth was pitted against Takarpan. The month long camp prior to the tournament, with four coaches, three of them former internationals and two of them doubles specialists Uday Pawar and Leroy D’Sa has certainly given a incisive edge to the team. It also gave the opportunity to try out different doubles combinations in the camp, including today’s winning combination.

Dinesh Khanna is a former Asian badminton champion

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