Smash-hit performance

Jwala-Ashwini play aggresively to topple World No.3 pair and enter third round.

Up one game and 20-18 in the second,Ashwini Ponnappa relied on her speedy smash to help her and partner Jwala Gutta register one of the biggest victories of their career. They smashed the World number 3 opponents Wen Hsing Cheng and Yu Chin Chien into an early exit en route to their 21-18,21-18 victory in the second round of the World Championships held in London.

The victory is huge for us. We didnt plan any major strategy. We wanted to make as few mistakes as possible. We kept on discussing rallies in between points. We combined well,our attack was great and our defence was good enough, said Jwala.

The fear arising out of the riots was forgotten once the duo stepped on to the court number 1 of Wembley Arena on Wednesday. They attacked right from the start and took an early 12-6 lead before closing out the first game. The Chinese Taipei pair started the second game on a bright note taking an early 10-5 lead but the Indian pair displayed well-coordinated rotational movement on the court and smashed with unrelenting ferocity to get back into the game. They focused their smashes along the flanks of the court and at one player at a time.

Although there is immense self-belief and positivity amongst the pair,they are still focused on taking things a match at a time. Our opponents dont really matter. We just focus on playing our game and playing it well. We both love playing tough opponents and are looking forward to the matches ahead. With the kind of confidence and self belief we are displaying,we can beat anyone on our day, said Jwala.

Jwala had played a mixed doubles match with partner V Diju earlier in the day and trounced their Malaysian opponents 8211; Jien Guo Ong and Sook Chin Chong 8211; 21-11,21-15. The tiredness was not a factor even though I played a match in the morning. The match was an easy one and our training coming into the World Champs was fitness-based and very intense, she said.

Sainas demolition job

Meanwhile,Saina Nehwal demolished her Irish opponent Chloe Magee 21-10 and 21-7 in mere 26 minutes to advance into the pre-quarterfinals. Saina was playing her first competitive game in more than a month but showed no sign of rust as she took commanding lead in both games,including 13-1 lead in the second. P Kashyap somehow snatched defeat from the jaws of victory when he faced World number 7 Tien Minh Nguyen in the second round. He came back from a game down to level things up and even gained five match points in the final game. He lost his nerve,however,and the match after he conceded seven straight points to his opponent.

Meanwhile,top seed Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia breezed past Finland8217;s Ville Lang 21-10 21-11 and will now meet South Korean ninth seed Park Sung-hwan. Chong Wei told reporters: I am quite confident because I played him in the Sudirman Cup recently and beat him. Also moving in the next round was Guatemalan giant-killer Kevin Cordon,who beat Sweden8217;s Henri Hurskainen 21-19 21-17 victory over on Wednesday.