Badminton World Championships: Brilliant day for India; Lin Dan impresses again

Saina Nehwal

On another fabulous day of badminton at the TianHe Indoor Gymnasium in Guangzhou, Indian stars came through unscathed to reach the quarter-finals of the Wang Lao Ji BWF World Championships. Saina Nehwal, P V Sindhu and Parupalli Kashyap entered the last eight of the tournament to keep the tri-colour flying high.

Four time world champion, Dan Lin turned on another solid performance to oust Wei Feng Chong to reach the quarter-finals. The top seeds Xeurui Li and Chong Wei Lee also advanced to the last eight scoring easy wins.

The capacity crowd in Guangzhou were served up some delicate fare by the World No.3 Saina Nehwal. The Indian came from behind to script a stirring three game victory over Porntip Buranaprasertsuk. The 3rd ranked Nehwal was pushed to wall by the 18th ranked Thai player, but the Indian fought resourcefully to score an entertaining 18-21, 21-16, 21-14 victory in 52 minutes.

In the tightly contested first game, Nehwal held the initial advantage with a three point cushion at 7-4. Porntip had taken Saina to the brink in the first game of their last meeting at the SCG Thailand Open in 2012. Though Nehwal had won that battle 24-22, the scars had left the Thai lady with the experience to challenge her yet again.

The lead changed hands a couple of times during the final stretch of the first game, but Porntip scored three straight to run away with the first game from 18-18. The Thai was at her aggressive best, smashing 11 winners to just two from Nehwal to take a game off the India for the first time since doing so in their first meeting back in 2008.

Nehwal had never lost to the Thai woman in five previous meetings, so it was no surprise when she put on a far more assured display in the second game. Having paid a heavy price for floating the bird too high in the first game, she made a clever switch in the second game. The world No.3 drew Porntip to the forecourt, effectively nullifying the fiery power of the 21-year-old.

In the third game, it was once again Nehwal that took charge. The Indian established control with a six point margin at 10-4, even as the Thai player struggled to deal with clever variations from her wily opponent. But the spirited Porntip won four points on the run, midway through the final game to set up an exciting climax. In the end, Nehwal’s ability to control flight and clever use of court space proved too daunting for her opponent.

Next up for Nehwal is Yeon Ju Bae, the 13th seeded Korean against whom she has a 5-2 career edge.

PV Sindhu

The revelation of the day though was Sindhu. The Hyderabadi lass made reputation count for little as she waltzed her way to victory over the defending champion and world No. 2 Yihan Wang. Incredibly, the 17-year-old Indian showed remarkable poise under pressure to edge her formidable opponent in two viciously fought games.

There was barely anything to separate the two ladies, even if the rankings split them apart by ten places. Sindhu proved her victory over Xeurui Li was no flash in the pan, turning out yet another remarkably assured performance under the most exacting circumstances. After winning the first 21-18, Sindhu had three match points at 20-17 in the second game.

But the determined Wang took the next four points to keep the match hanging by a thread. Sindhu saved game point before taking the next two points to clinch the game 23-21. The 17-year-old will take on Shixian Wang to try and reach the semi-finals of this premier event. Sindhu’s hard fought 55 minute victory avenged her loss to Yihan at the Sudirman Cup in May, where she stumbled after taking the first game.

Earlier in the day, Parupalli Kashyap kept his hopes alive with a facile 21-13, 21-16 victory over the 6th seeded Yun Hu. The 13th ranked Hyderabadi needed just 37 minutes to score his first victory over the player from Hong Kong in three career meetings.

Kashyap yielded the net to his opponent but was in smashing form at the back of the court, nailing 17 powerful winners to just four from his opponent. Kashyap’s next opponent is the 3rd seeded Chinese Pengyu Du.

Lin Dan seems intent on making the most of his controversial wildcard. The reigning Olympic Champion, playing only for the fourth time since that glorious day in London was in effortless form. The player considered by many as the finest badminton star ever, toughed out a difficult first game before polishing his opponent off the court in the relatively easier second game.

In a match featuring some feathery nuances at the net, Super Dan needed 44 minutes to book his spot in the last eight with a 22-20, 21-10 victory.

Dan will be part of the early matches on Friday when he takes on the second seeded Long Chen in the second match on court 1. Saina Nehwal will follow on the same court, but she will come out after a couple of men’s doubles matches that follow Dan on court. The top seeded Chong Wei Lee will also be in action on the same court a little later.

Kashyap is fifth on the card of the adjacent court, where he takes on Du for a chance to guarantee a medal in the men’s singles event. The 10th seeded Sindhu is marked for match 7 on the same court as little after Kashyap. Keep it here as we bring you the latest action and all the important results through the rest of the weekend.