Another brick in the wall

Chen Long starts as a favourite — he’s the reigning World Champion, has won the All England, and a consistent world No 2. But optimism is gently sweeping over shuttle’s Indian fans with Srikanth acting as medium while spreading the good word of badminton. And Anup Sridhar who clinched the rare few marquee wins of the last decade in men’s singles reckons that the Saturday face-off is not to be missed.

“There’s few things in badminton better than beating Lin Dan in China. After that nobody’s out of reach really. Yes, Chen Long starts as favourite and the whole pressure will be on him. I’d definitely say Srikanth can take him on and it is 50-50,” Anup says confidently.

Such flattering odds, and bold estimates would’ve been unthinkable last Saturday when Srikanth quietly entered the finals at Fuzhou for the China Open. But not any more. The 21-year-old disposed off local lad Wei Nan 21-14, 21-15 in Hong Kong on Friday, to set up a delicious tussle between India and China’s current best players.

Chen Long’s not No. 2 for nothing. His frame is beastly, and his game is efficient. “He’s significantly taller than Lin Dan and that’s the main adjustment for Srikanth. Naturally for his height, he tries to keep shuttle down and attacks. But Srikanth’s not one to cower and his strength is attack too,” Anup says.

The former India No.1 and Olympian believes the winner will be the one who dominates the front-court. “It’ll be a battle of who can rule the net, and who lifts the shuttle up. The net’s where the game will be decided,” Anup reckons.

As such, Lin Dan’s mellowed in his attack and changed his style quite a bit. Chen Long’s sharper — tipped by China as the one who will take over the reins of domination. “But Srikanth is in the ideal frame of mind and he has nothing to lose. He’s young and fearless and the pressure will be on Long who is the top seed,” Anup stresses. The erstwhile bombastic player also believes the ‘Lin Dan’ tag will aid Srikanth. “It’s a matter of how you take it and Srikanth will see opportunity in this not pressure.”

A rudimentary stat puts more Indians among the Top-100 than the Chinese or any other country in the world in men’s singles this season.

“Indians have been playing at a high level, but Srikanth is some way apart. Sometime next year, I expect him to be in the world’s Top 3 or at least he has that potential,” Anup says after watching the youngster make his second straight semifinal on the Super Series circuit.

Long has shown Dan-esque efficacy in tearing apart opponents and as such other Indians have barely managed to snare a set out of him.

Kashyap’s beaten him once at Indonesia in six losses, but most others haven’t lasted more than 45 minutes on court. Srikanth’s last experience was all too brief and we daresay, brutal as he lost 21-12, 21-10 in 36 minutes at this August’s World Championships where Long was crowned winner. However, he’s not immune to pressure and when the weight of being China’s spearhead is upon him, he has cracked — like at the Asian Games against the Japanese.

Ranking and reputation say Chen Long can bulldoze past the Indian upstart if Hong Kong is to be a revenge for Fuzhou. Srikanth might have other ideas though — Anup insists he almost always does.

SAINA FAULTERS

Hong Kong: India’s challenge was over in singles quarterfinals when Saina Nehwal, who held a 5-2 edge over Tai Tzu Ying ahead of the match, could not find a way past her Taipei rival’s compact game. The last time the two met, the Indian had defeated Ying in the semifinals of Swiss Open in 2013. But on Friday, Saina went down 15-21, 19-21 to the World No. 9 in just 39 minutes.