Yonex Australian Open: Gurusaidutt, Anand reach third round; Jayaram bows out

India’s RMV Gurusaidutt dug deep into his reserves before halting the stiff challenge of Thailand’s Suppanyu Avihingsanon 14-21, 21-18, 21-19 to reach the third round of the Yonex Australia Badminton Open Grand Prix Gold Championship, being played at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) on Wednesday.

Gurusaidutt was pushed to the wall by his 51st ranked Thai opponent in the first game. The Indian struggled in the rallies and neither did he look deceptive at the net. Suppanyu, on the other hand, was more clinical with the winners, forcing the Indian to play an error-strewn game.

By the time the world number 36 shuttler could hit the straps, Suppanyu had wrested the early initiative to run up a decent lead, winning five consecutive points at one stage, to have the opening game in his bag at 21-14.

Gurusaidutt, whose best performance this year has been a third-round finish at the Yonex German Open, rebounded in the second game. The Indian appeared steady in the rallies and also appeared quick at the net.

Suppanyu was unsettled by the improved play from the Indian. The Thai shuttler started leaking points tamely to allow Gurusaidutt gain a sizeable lead.

The Indian maintained the lead and won the second game at 21-18.

The decider had all the ingredients of a thriller. It was a no-holds-barred contest as both shuttlers went for broke. Gurusaidutt was staring down the barrel when he trailed Suppanyu 17-18.

But the Indian survived the anxious moments, showing nerves of steel to win the decider at 21-19 to advance to the third round.

Gurusaidutt next plays top seed and world number one Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia. The Malaysian had met the Indian once and triumphed on that occasion.

Another Indian, Anand Pawar, also moved into the second round when his Malaysia opponent Zulfadli Zulkifli retired hurt.

The fourteenth seed had won a tight opening game at 21-19 when the 64th ranked Malaysian brought his own exit from the tournament.

He now runs into a tough opponent in fourth seed Wei Feng Chong of Malaysia in the third round. Chong is ranked 16th in the world and enjoys a 2-0 head-to-head record against Anand.

However, India’s highest seeded player in the tournament, Ajay Jayaram, came a cropper against Korea’s 107th ranked Dong Keun Lee, losing 24-26, 19-21 in a hard-fought second round match.

Earlier, India’s lone woman entrant, Sarada Jasti, went down 5-21, 13-21 to Japan’s 44th ranked Yui Hashimoto.