Here are the results of the semifinals- The results (Indians unless stated): Men's singles (semifinals): Anand Pawar bt Lim Kenn (Mas) 15-12, 15-3; Thomas Kurien bt Golam Reza Bagheri (Iri) 15-5, 15-6. Doubles (semifinals): Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar bt Chung Chist Khoo and Raymond Steven (Mas) 15-8, 15-2; Jaseel P. Ismail and V. Diju bt Markose Bristow and Jaison Xavier 15-5, 15-2. Women's singles (semifinals): Aparna Popat bt B. R. Meenakshi 11-6, 11-8; Saina Nehwal bt Trupti Murgunde 3-11, 11-3, 11-6. Doubles (final): Krishinda Nitya and Metali Nadya (Ina) bt Manbin Perza and Nigin Amirpour (Iri) 15-1, 15-3. Mixed doubles (final): V. Diju and B. R. Meenakshi bt Markose Bristow and Aparna Balan 15-10, 15-4. As can be seen even though it is a satellite event many major senior players took part[Abhinn Shyam Gupta,Nikhil Kanetkar,,Trupti Murgunde, B.R Meenakshi etc]And yet 2 junior players Anand Pawar and Saina Nehwal in the respective Singles have managed to reach the finals. [I think off late the Juniors are doing incredibly well and are the Future of badminton in India. Among the seniors Chetan Anand and Arvind Bhat are getting decent results in Grand Prix tournaments.This is all really good news]
Badminton : Pawar enters Asian Satellite final Sunday, October 23, 2005 (New Delhi): Anand Pawar stopped Lim Kenn's winning streak and set up an all-India summit clash against Kurian Thomas in the men's singles of the Asian Satellite badminton championship at Siri Fort Complex in New Delhi. Pawar beat Malaysian Kenn 15-12 15-3 while fifth seed Kurian outplayed Iran's top shuttler Reza Golam Bagheri 15-5 15-6 in the semifinals yesterday. The women's final too would feature home favourites on both sides of the net, Saina Nehwal challenging top seed Aparna Popat for the coveted trophy. Promising youngster Saina upset second seed Trupti Murugunde 3-11 11-3 11-6 to book her final berth against Aparna. The Bangalorean however lived up to her top billing as she defeated third seed B R Meenakshi 11-6 11-8 in the other semifinal. Mumbaikar Pawar matched Kenn, who had accounted for top seed Abhin Shyam Gupta, stroke for stroke and outclassed him in every department. Good fight back Pawar got off to a flying start to 7-1. At 12-6 Lenn fought back his way courtesy some easy points handed over by Pawar. Lenn looked dangerous with his big smashes but Pawar's net placing and smart thinking undid Kenn. Pawar was in fine control of the second game right from the start and clinched it with his controlled aggression and excellent court coverage. Eighth seed Reza could not put up- any fight against the fifth seed Kurian and gave away too many easy points. (PTI)
Anand Pawar to meet Thomas Kurien in final Rakesh Rao [size=-2]— Photo: Rajeev Bhatt [/size] POWER PLAY: Anand Pawar was clinical in defeating Lim Kenn in the semifinals. NEW DELHI: Anand Pawar played in keeping with his reputation of being one of the brightest prospects in the country when he gate-crashed into the men's singles final of the Asian Satellite badminton championship at the Siri Fort indoor stadium here on Saturday. Anand, son of former doubles champion Uday Pawar and winner of the Wimbledon under-19 title this year, overcame a brief lapse of concentration in the opening game to record an emphatic 15-12, 15-3 victory over Malaysia's Lim Kenn. The seventh seeded Anand now plays fourth seeded Thomas Kurien who overpowered the strongly built Iranian Golam Reza Bagheri 15-5, 15-6 in the other semifinal. The women's final will be a repeat of the National finals held in January at Jamshedpur, with an unseeded Saina Nehwal challenging top seed Aparna Popat. Saina, the National junior girls' champion, bounced back from the loss of the first game and an early deficit in the second, to record an impressive 3-11, 11-3, 11-6 victory over second seed Trupti Murgunde in 35 minutes. Aparna maintained her all-win record against B. R. Meenakshi. Aparna, facing Meenaskhi after nearly three seasons, shook off a 1-4 deficit in the opening game to complete an 11-6, 11-8 win in 40 minutes. Meenakshi later had the satisfaction of winning the mixed doubles title with V. Diju. The results (Indians unless stated): Men's singles (semifinals): Anand Pawar bt Lim Kenn (Mas) 15-12, 15-3; Thomas Kurien bt Golam Reza Bagheri (Iri) 15-5, 15-6. Doubles (semifinals): Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar bt Chung Chist Khoo and Raymond Steven (Mas) 15-8, 15-2; Jaseel P. Ismail and V. Diju bt Markose Bristow and Jaison Xavier 15-5, 15-2. Women's singles (semifinals): Aparna Popat bt B. R. Meenakshi 11-6, 11-8; Saina Nehwal bt Trupti Murgunde 3-11, 11-3, 11-6. Doubles (final): Krishinda Nitya and Metali Nadya (Ina) bt Manbin Perza and Nigin Amirpour (Iri) 15-1, 15-3. Mixed doubles (final): V. Diju and B. R. Meenakshi bt Markose Bristow and Aparna Balan 15-10, 15-4.
Sorry i forgot to mention;The event started on the 19th and is to end on the 23rd.The results of all rounds can be found on http://www.badmintonindia.org
Results of all finals Deccan Herald » Sports » Detailed Story Saina, Kurien champions New Delhi,PTI: Promising teenager Saina Nehwal created a major upset when she defeated national champion Aparna Popat in straight games to win the women's title at the Asian Satellite Badminton Chamipionship here on Sunday. In the men’s section, Thomas Kurien took the honours beating Anand Pawar 10-15, 15-5, 15-10. Saina, hailing from Hyderabad, proved that she was rightly regarded as a future prospect when she grounded the seasoned Popat 11-8, 11-6, avenging her defeat at the Nationals in Jamshedpur. The much-awaited match of the $10,0000 event saw Popat, a seven-time National champion, leading 4-0 before making some uncharasteristic errors which were taken adavantage of by her 16-year-old opponent. Aparna struggled on several occasions to keep her overhead shots in the court and also netted easy chances but it was the deft placements of the younger finalist that caught her on the wrong foot on important points. After levelling at 6-6, Saina surged ahead to a 10-6 lead before clinching the first game 11-8. In the second, Saina did not give any opportunity to the experienced Aparna to make a comeback, taking an early 3-0 lead. Aparna somehow levelled at 5-5 but Saina raced away to a 10-5 advantage. Aparna saved four match points but Saina took the second game 11-6 to pocket the title. Results: (all finals): Men: Thomas Kurien bt Anand Pawar 10-15, 15-5, 15-10. Doubles: Thomas Sanave/ Rupesh Kumar bt Ismail P Jaseel/ V Diju 17-14, 15-7. Women: Saina Nehwal bt Aparna Popat 11-8, 11-6. Mixed doubles: V Diju/ B R Meenakshi bt Markose Bristow/ Aparna Balan 15-10, 15-4.
First major title for Thomas Kurien Rakesh Rao Gopi, Arif praise Saina <LI>Aparna was too tense NEW DELHI: The youth of Saina Nehwal and the experience of Thomas Kurien came good when it mattered the most and provided a fitting finale to the Asian Satellite Badminton championship at the Siri Fort indoor stadium here on Sunday. Fifteen-year old Saina, who is growing up in the badminton world by idolising Aparna Popat, pulled off a stunning 11-8, 11-6 victory over the eight-time National champion to lived up to the expectations of her mentors Mohammad Arif and P. Gopi Chand. The women's title in only her third international appearance in the senior ranks was the reward for Saina, who holds the promise to take over the mantle from Aparna for years to come. If Saina's display on Sunday was any indication, the process of the change of guard has commenced. Aparna, whose last loss to a fellow Indian came in the 2001 National inter-state championship at Jaipur when she went down to G. Jwala at Jaipur, looked too tense and did not move well on this day. Saina repeatedly caught Aparna slow in retrieving her half-smashes. It was not surprising when Aparna erred one last time at the net on match point. Saina, who lost to Aparna in the semifinal of the 2004 National championship and in the final this year, said it was a great day for her because she had won against a player she admires so much. "Aparna is a great player and I grew up watching her. For me, beating Aparna is almost unbelievable. Today, the pressure was on Aparna and I played freely. I know I played well. But I still have to improve my speed and stamina in order to move to a higher level," said the Hyderabad girl. Jubilant Minutes after the final, speaking to The Hindu from Hyderabad, Mohammad Arif and Gopi Chand were jubilant on Saina's special victory. "She is a fine prospect with a lot of potential," said Arif under whose supervision Saina blossomed before moving to Gopi Chand's Academy. "I am sure she is going to serve the nation for many years," he said. Gopi was no less excited on Saina's triumph. "I think Saina made Aparna move a lot more today than what other girls have managed in the past. Aparna was good at the net but lacked the speed today to match Saina," was Gopi's observation. Aparna started well by taking a 4-0 lead before Saina got going. She led up to 6-4 but thereafter Saina reeled off six points from seven serving opportunities and went on to convert her third game point. In the second game, it was Saina who led 3-0 before Aparna made it 5-3. This game saw longer rallies with Saina's toss-and-drop routine working more effectively. With Aparna faltering often on the forecourt, Saina built a 10-5 lead. A fighting Aparna saved four match points but netted a return to suffer a rare defeat. Before Saina came out stronger in the 21-minute final, Kurien used all his experience to squash the bid of young challenger Anand Pawar for his first major senior title. After sealing the hard-earned 10-15, 15-5, 15-10 victory in just under an hour, an otherwise introvert Kurien came up with a child-like backward flip that looked more as an afterthought for the sake of television than as a spontaneous gesture of joy. Nevertheless, Kurien, a former National junior champion, deserved his moment that came after years of being in the shadows of the more accomplished names like Chetan Anand, Nikhil Kanetkar and later Arvind Bhat and Anup Sridhar. Kurien, who looked in control of all three games, was surprised by Anand's unbroken sequence of 10 points that saw him pull away from 5-10 to snatch the first game. In the second, Kurien's defence came good and rendered Anand's power play ineffective. From a quick 4-0 lead, Kurien enlarged his advantage to 9-1 before winning five points on the trot to make it 14-3 and converted the second game point. In the decider, once again it was Kurien who was first off the blocks. He led 5-0 and stayed comfortably ahead throughout. He converted his first match point when Anand's backhand flick went long. Later, top seeds Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar won the men's doubles by stopping Jaseel P. Ismail and V. Diju. The results (finals): Men's singles: Thomas Kurien bt Anand Pawar 10-15, 15-5, 15-10. Doubles: Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar bt Jaseel P. Ismail and V. Diju 17-14, 15-7. Women's singles: Saina Nehwal bt Aparna Popat 11-8, 11-
A can be seen Saina does not want to be second to be anyone.No wonder Pullela Gopichand and Renowned coach Arif are impressed.
It's good to see the youngsters nick a title here. As reported in Bola last week, PBSI was asked to send a team to the Indian Satellite, which they did. They sent the junior doubles players: Frans Kurniawan/Candra and this ladies pair. At least, the effort is not wasted and they came back with a title
Those players went to India alone if I'm not mistaken, without any officials. I read in Bola (today's) that the girls' first match is on 11 while they arrived in India on 9. Although Frans and Candra lost in QF, they experienced something unusual, cooking. They said that they didn't like the food in India, lucky for them the boys brought a rice cooker, so they can cook rice and eat with Abon (i don't know how we call it in English) and corned beef.
That's suprising.Not many would say that.But i am sure they could have found whatever they eat at home,the foods here are very diverse.
If you have a daughter in India, name her Sania or Saina, or something like that. Siana, Saani, Sanai, ...
Yeah Sania Mirza has become very popular here for her good results in recent tournaments in tennis as well as her looks.'Sania Mania' that's what they are calling it here. But with the way Saina is going i am pretty sure she's going to cause 'Saina Mania' in India in Badminton.The expectations from Saina Nehwal are aldready very high.the hype is buliding as well and they will only increase.After all it takes a good player to defeat a eight-time unbeaten national champion[Aparna Popat].but for the player to be a 15 yr old girl is just incredible...fantastic rather And whoever said 'What's in the Name?
It's shocking though to see them travelling without officials...considering the fact that they're all youngsters (under 20). If u read another article in Bola, it talks abt the financial difficulties PBSI is having. I thought Sutiyoso is a wealthy man....can he donate a few of his billions rupiah to the coffer? As for abon...the English translation is meat floss
Congratulations to both Thomas Kurien and Saina Nehwal on winning the singles titles at the Asian Satellite Championships. I had the pleasure of watching some of the young Indian players in action during last year's Cheers Singapore Satellite Championships and was particularly impressed with Saina, more so now that I realise that she's barely 15 going on 16. I'm sure more overseas exposure will do her a lot of good. Rudy Hartono and Mia Audina caught the badminton world by storm when they were about 16, I think. Here are some pics from my album on some of the promising young Indian shuttlers, the first few featuring Saina in singles and mixed doubles and some others on Kurien Shruti (WS) and Sanave Thomas (MS), etc:
