Hunting in a pair

Jwala-Ashwini upset world number 14 team to enter semis and assure themselves of a bronze.

The first thing that Jwala Gutta did after her quarter-final victory at the World Championships with doubles partner Ashwini Ponnappa was to raid the food-court. Having had only a light breakfast before her match,which was scheduled around lunchtime,the 17-21,21-10,21-17 victory against the world number 14 pair of Vita Marissa and Nadya Melati served as a good appetizer. With their victory,the duo have assured themselves of a bronze medal,an unprecedented achievement in Indian womens badminton and Jwala is thrilled with their performance.

This is an amazing achievement,definitely the biggest in our career. The Commonwealth gold was special,but this is something else, she said.

The Indian pair,ranked 21 in the world,took time to settle initially as their Indonesian opponents raced to an early 15-9 lead in the first game. They managed to recover,however,and levelled the scores to 17-all,when their opponents won four consecutive points to capture the first game. The Indian duo picked themselves up in style. Jwala,recently conferred the Arjuna Award,abd Ashwini smashed their way to seven consecutive points before winning the second game 21-10. The third game was tighter at the start with both teams going neck and neck till 12-12. It was then that the Indians put the foot on the accelerator and attacked their way to a 21-17 victory for a place in the semifinal.

This exceptional performance comes on the back of a below par tour of Southeast Asia where their best performance was a second round exit in the Indonesian Open. The five-week training stint that separated the two tours was the major factor in the transformation,according to national coach Pullela Gopichand. They were rusty going into the previous tournaments and just needed time to train. We focused on every aspect of their game and even had specific drills for just the two of them. This made them sharper and fitter and that showed on the court today, said Gopichand.

The left-right combination gives them a distinct advantage over their opponents,but Jwala believed that it was just about being patient and going for the kill when the opportunity arose. Without making any special preparations for the semifinal against World number 7 8211; Qing Tian and Yunlei Zhao,this will remain to be their basic plan. We have nothing to lose going into tomorrows Saturdays match. We just want to go out there,be our attacking best and enjoy ourselves, said the 17-year-old Jwala. The duo is yet to register a win over the Chinese pair,but the Indians will benefit from having played them before in Korea.

Wei in semis

Top-ranked Lee Chong Wei moved closer to becoming the first Malaysian to win a world badminton title Friday and then said he may retire after next year8217;s Olympics. Lee reached the semis by beating Kevin Cordon of Guatemala 21-7,21-13. So far I think I am in top form, Lee said. But I may retire after the Olympics. It will depend on my fitness and injuries.

Reuters