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Journalism of Courage
India8217;s mens singles challenge imploded with every passing quarter of an hour as on each of the three adjacent courts at the Gachibowli Stadium,first Anand Pawar,then Aravind Bhat,and finally Anup Sridhar succumbed helplessly to opponents of various statures on the pre-quarterfinals day of the India Open.
Saina Nehwal remained immune to this carnage of the hosts challenge. Her 20-minute 21-8 21-8 swatting of Hong Kongs Hung Yung Chan has set her up a quarter-final against fifth seed Malaysian Julia Pei Xian Wong.
Pawars 21-12 21-12 loss in exactly half an hour was followed by a confession that against the sort of power game the young Chinese showcased,he will always struggle. Hes always on top of your defence with his smashes. Unless I build on my power,Ill never be able to get the penetration that can match his relentless attack, he said.
Pawar wasnt the only one stumped by a rivals sheer class. World No 7 and former Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat,unsurprisingly,had the same effect on Bhat. The Indian national champion,who came into the tournament having taken a game off Lin Dan at the Swiss Open,never threatened the Indonesian great,losing the plot tactically during his 21-14 21-11 loss.
Deft placements
The Indonesian is a master at the parallel game,and according to national coach P Gopichand,Bhat played into his hands by trying to outdo him at his craft. From 8-8 onwards in the first game,Hidayat simply ran away with it,smashing hard and harrying Bhat around the court with his deft backhand placements.
I was surprised with his game, Bhat under-stated,hoping that their next encounter would yield a better result. Hidayat was cheeky in asking the press contingent: You think Im the favourite for the title now? Well,thank you.
Sridhar,looking far fitter,self-destructed with a string of errors against young Malaysian Chun Seang Tan. The Indian took the first game 21-9 before running into dogged defending from the unseeded Malaysian. It was compounded by his own loose play in the next two games. He admitted as much. Im not as fit as I need to be,and there was really poor application in the second and third games and bad choices of strokes.
With the singles hopes restricted to Nehwal,who is feeling fitter as ever and moving quick,the focus will zoom in on her. But she is accustomed to carrying entire tournaments on her shoulders she singularly brought hordes of crowds to the stadium for the Commonwealth Youth Games and the Junior World Championships. Next up is the Malaysian Wong. Ill need to play all my strokes in the match tomorrow. Just attacking wont be enough from now on. My real tournament starts now, she stated.
