GUTS: Feb-March 2011 by Dev Sukumar

Vol. 2. No. 12

Lee Chong Wei, Wang Shixian

For Private Circulation Only

Storming The All England

February-March 2011

GUTS - A Window into World Badminton

Feb-Mar 2011

Time for petroleum companies to compete as individual teams? For a long time, the team event at the national championships has been reduced to a formality. The outcome is known even before the event starts – for the team event can be won only by one outfit – the PSPB (Petroleum Sports Promotion Board), which is actually a combined team drawn from all the petroleum companies. It is time to rethink the relevance of fielding a unified PSPB team. The PSPB boasts of every top player in the country, reducing the team event at the nationals to a formality, and robbing it of its competitive nature. Instead, why can’t the individual petroleum companies field teams of their own at the nationals? This would automatically raise the public interest in the team event, ensure greater opportunities for all players, and give the team event some legitimacy. It will increase employment in this sector as each company will strive to improve the depth of their team. Alternately, BAI can conduct a Public sector team championship or league along with individual championship at par with the present nationals, where these companies get enough publicity and make nationals only an Inter-state affair. Participate in the debate at www.badmintonmania.wordpress.com.

he issue of conducting the inter-state championships only for the state units has been discussed many times in BAI meetings. Every time, the institutions’ argument that they are creating job opportunities for players won them place in the interstate event. The entry of PSPB into the interstate event has completely robbed the event of any semblance of interest. Since the PSPB provides the best pay and perks to sportsmen, they have amongst them the very best of Badminton talent in the country, making the interstate into some kind of a farce. In my opinion, we need to find ways to bring back the competitiveness of the interstate event .This can happen by restricting participation in the interstate event only to state units. This has to be done in a way without diluting the importance of the institutions. Suggestions: (a) Inter-state events to be restricted to the states. This will ensure that states with better players will compete for the top honours thereby encouraging the state units to strive and bringing up the standard of their players at all levels. This will also ensure that the state units’ efforts in bringing up players to the national level are not unnoticed. Everyone needs to understand that there is a national policy at the government level to provide job opportunities to sportspersons at various levels. Hence, I do not agree with the argument of institutions that

they would stop recruitment if they are not allowed to participate in the inter-state championships. In the larger interests of the game, institutions should support and continue encouraging players without compromising on the facilities being offered. (b)The individual championships should be open in the real sense. Players should be representing their institutions in open championships which will enhance the profile of their respective companies and will also generate goodwill for them. In fact, BAI should give more number of entries (a maximum of 8) for individual events if their players are ranked in the top 50 in the country in that event. This will encourage recruitment and many top public / private institutions will provide employment to promising players. In fact, BAI can be liberal in allowing contract players who are temporarily employed in these institutions to represent them. This will also encourage individual employers to make their players to participate in national ranking tournaments so that they get favourable national ranking, which will ensure them direct entry to the nationals. The draw of the open nationals can be for 128 (112 direct and 16 qualifiers) in the singles category and 64 (56 direct and 8 qualifiers) in the doubles category. The entries can also be restricted to players belonging to the top 200 in the country in singles and top 100 teams in doubles. These changes can make our domestic circuit more vibrant and also enhance the prestige of the inter-state and national individual championships. This will also take care of the interests of both the states and institutions Vimal Kumar Former national chief coach

irst of all BAI should conduct inter-state and Nationals separately and allow each company to participate in both events as individual teams which will definitely ensure the participation of all players working in various companies. Also, companies will recruit more players both in singles and doubles for their teams. Many players now are not focusing on the team championships and companies are not even insisting on that . Moreover, public sector companies like IOCL, ONGC and BPCL should conduct Open tournaments along with their departmental tournaments (after the team championships). George Thomas Former National Champion

hough the association is already organising inter- institutional badminton, it’s a mockery. I think they are not really interested in organising such tournaments in a befitting manner because they are scared that the member associations will become stronger and then they cannot dictate terms to them. The government organisations will have to obey government norms and rules. Naturally, the present setup cannot gather support for their personnel interests or anything against the cause of badminton and players. There is already an entity called Public Sector Badminton Sports Board and most

Feb-Mar 2011

of the PSUs are members. If at least half of the members (over 60 members are there in the Board) take some interest in these tournaments, the Board can do wonders in creating job opportunties for players. Since no major PSUs are coming forward to take up important posts, this Board is also a reason for the poor conduct of tournaments. If the Board is run professionally, this tournament might be of better quality than the nationals organised by BAI. Around 90 per cent national players are employed by major PSUs in this country. It is high time there is healthy competition between the boards. John Of Matha Former Kerala player and secretary

his point has been discussed many times in badminton and table tennis forums. My opinion is that all the petroleum companies should be fielded as individual entities in the inter-institutional tournament which should be renamed ‘Departmental Nationals’. The winners and runners-up of the Departmental Nationals should be allowed to participate in the Senior Nationals. In fact Air India and zonal Railways teams should also participate in this tournament which will make the event a really mega event. TV Subramaniam, AAI

etroleum teams should definitely get a chance to play as separate teams in the nationals. Badminton is becoming very popular day by day and many aspiring players do not get chance in their states for many reasons. So it is high time that BAI consider allowing petroleum teams to participate as separate entities as this would boost the players and our sport. Petroleum companies can also benefit from the rising popularity of badminton, giving good payments for players and various incentives as awards. Praijat Natu

still remember when I played for Maharashtra as a youngster in 1998, we won the All India team championship in Delhi Nationals.The feeling was electric, to win along with Vincent Lobo, Mangrish Palekar and Vijay Lancy as team mates. Vijay Lancy had beaten Srikant Bakshi after being 1-14 down after losing the first game. The feeling was similar to the excitement we had a few months later when we won the silver medal in the 1998 Commonwealth Games at KL. The following year the PSPB was formed. I was part of the PSPB team throughout the following decade but sadly we just kept winning without any real opposition.

It’s great that public sector companies are providing jobs to top players but by having their unified team in the national team championships they have killed the team event. I feel that the national team championship should go back to the old days of players playing proudly for their home state and fighting it out rather than the formality of having a team championship where it is ‘Team India’ Vs The Other States. The PSPB anyway have their own tournament every year and the players they employ wear their respective company logos throughout the year. It is up to the authorities to decide on this issue but there is really no truth in rejoicing after winning when really there in no state in India named as PSPB. Nikhil Kanetkar, Former Olympian

Nikhil Kanetkar launches academy in Pune and South Africa, have convinced Kanetkar that this is the next innings in his badminton career.

Former badminton international Nikhil Kanetkar, who was once ranked in the world top 50, announced the launch of his badminton academy in his hometown of Pune in March. It was, he said, his way of “giving back to the game”, and came two weeks after he announced his retirement. The academy will be located at the Balewadi indoor stadium, which hosted the Youth Commonwealth and the World Junior Championships in 2008. “It’s been on my mind for a while,” Kanetkar said. “I visited the Balewadi stadium for the first time two months ago. I’d never been there even though the stadium is five minutes from my house. I’ve been busy traveling, but when I saw the complex, I was impressed. It’s phenomenal. It’s maintained well, and has a track and swimming pool. I spoke to Deputy Director Sabnis and he encouraged me and asked me to submit a proposal.” Kanetkar was part of the early batch of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy. He was among a generation of shuttlers – including Gopichand, Siddharth Jain and others -- who raised the profile of

“I think I’ll enjoy it,” he says. “Badminton is my passion. I’m ready for the challenges. I hope I can make this academy spoken along the same lines as the Padukone or the Gopi academy in five years’ time.”

Indian badminton after its bleak period in the Nineties. He would be part of the team that helped India qualify for the Thomas Cup finals in 2000 for the first time since 1988. Incidentally, Kanetkar would later train at the national camp under one-time contemporary Gopichand. The experiences at the two academies, apart from brief coaching stints in Germany

Kanetkar is looking at developing talent in the region around Balewadi, and his programme will cater to both beginners and advanced players. It’s early yet, and there’s plenty to be done – like roping in sponsors, hiring coaches and trainers and administrative staff. What’s driving him is that, despite its great legacy of badminton, and undoubted talent, Maharashtra hasn’t developed its home talent. Most players leave for Bangalore or Hyderabad for higher training, and that’s something Kanetkar wants to address. “I had to leave Pune when I was 15,” says Kanetkar. “If I can organize the expertise here, a lot of people would benefit. Our country is huge, but there are just two major centres now. We now need to start at a new level in Maharashtra.”

GUTS - A Window into World Badminton

Feb-Mar 2011

LCW finally buries his demons This was arguably Lee Chong Wei’s finest hour. After years of heartbreak, he proved he could beat the great Lin Dan in the pressure-cooker of an All England final, writes Badzine’s RAPHAEL SACHETAT

ee Chong Wei kept his title in Birmingham but this victory was probably even sweeter than his maiden gold at the Yonex All England (March 8 to 13). This time, he beat the best player of all time – Super Dan – in the final he led from start to finish. It was clearly a show. The players entered with songs from all over the world, with lighting effects, an audience ready for a great evening and an NIA Stadium filled with spectators eager to see the clash of the week between Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan. This special match had been on everyone’s minds since the draws were released since Lee and Lin, the two arch-rivals, had been drawn on either side of the competition. Lee had warned that after winning his first title here, he was clearly going to enjoy the evening, not pressuring himself while Lin Dan had shown glimpses of weaknesses in the semifinal, just before attempting to enter history by becoming the first Chinese player to clinch a fifth title in the event. If some jiayou‘s were shouted from time to time, the singing and dancing Malaysian colony way up in the stands made much more noise and had more opportunities to cheer for their hero: Lee Chong Wei was simply playing the perfect game while Lin Dan, in good form but not as incisive as usual, was struggling to put the shuttles down. Chong Wei, patient and relying on his incredible defence, was banking on his stamina and great knowledge of his opponent’s game. After more than 15 meetings, the Malaysian knew that the

Chinese had to play his very best to beat him and that what he had seen from Lin this week could mean he would get a second consecutive title. The first game was very close with great rallies, accurate net play, smart clears, and big attacks but the Malaysian was able to come on top while Lin was obviously not happy with his speed – his usual rallyenders from the back were often caught by the Malaysian. The rallies were tighter than the score showed when Chong Wei led 17-11, but the Malaysian had taken too big of a margin to lose the first game, which he pocketed 21-17. Lee led most of the second game, with one or two points advantage until Lin caught back at 17-17, and tried to accelerate the pace of the game, bringing excitement to the Chinese fans. But a few mistakes and very solid play from Chong Wei saw the Malaysian come out on top

all england open with a similar score in the second game, 21-17. He fell on his knees and embraced his coaches before going to see Lin Dan already packing his stuff and getting a warm hug from his main opponent. The Chinese had his head down as he knew there was no solution for him against Chong Wei and was later to admit that he was not the best on court today. “Chong Wei played very well and on my end, I have played too many matches at home for the Chinese league and in

Germany then here. I just didn’t have the motivation or the will to fight more than I did,” said Lin Dan. For Lee, this victory may taste even sweeter than last year’s – for the Malaysian had not run into Dan, a player he considers to be the only one he can’t beat on cue. “I am very pleased to have beaten Lin Dan today. It is always special to beat him in any tournament. This All England title is something special to me after I won it last year for the first time. I will be attempting to win my third title next year. But before that, of course, I will try to win the World Championships here in England,” he told the press after receiving a phone call from the Prime Minister of Malaysia, who had stayed up to watch the game back home.

Saina crashes out in quarters Saina Nehwal faltered in the quarterfinals of the All England Open badminton championships to a Japanese who had to keep away thoughts of the devastating tsunami at home. The fifth-seeded Saina, who was expected to win at the event given the absence of some top Chinese players, lost 21-11, 22-20 to her Japanese rival Eriko Hirose late on Friday. The match was contested evenly to start with but Hirose took control by breaking through the rallies that Saina generally wraps up in her favour. Saina came back in the second game and it went neck and neck but the Indian ultimately fell short as Hirose held her nerves to clinch the issue. Among the other Indian competitors, Diju and Jwala Gutta scored an impressive win over Korean pair Yoo Yeon Soo/ Kim Min Jung first up, but fell 21-11 21-12 to Tao Jiaming/ Qing Tian (China) in the second round. FINALS: MS: Lee Chong Wei bt Lin Dan 21-17 21-17 WS: Wang Shixian (Chn) bt Eriko Hirose (Jpn) 24-22 21-18 MD: Mathias Boe/ Carsten Mogensen (Den) bt Koo Kien Keat/ Tan Boon Heong (Mas) 15-21 21-18 21-18 WD: Wang Xiaoli/ Yu Yang (Chn) bt Mizuki Fujii/ Reika Kakiiwa (Jpn) 21-2 21-9 XD: Chen Xu/ Ma Jin (Chn) bt 3-Sudket/ Saralee (Tha) 21-13 21-9

Feb-Mar 2011

Super Saina scales Swiss peak Michaela Bencova/ Badzine

aina Nehwal made up for a disappointing quarterfinal loss at the All England by taking the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold (March 15 to 20) the very next week. World No.4 Saina was favoured to win the final against world No.19 Sung Ji Hyun. But the last encounter between the two had been a tough affair – the Indian had prevailed in three games of the first round match at the Indonesian Open in 2010 – which would eventually be her first Super Series title victory. In the final, the tough Korean hung on in the initial stages, keeping apace until 7-all, but from there the Indian surged ahead and was never threatened. The Korea was unable to mount much resistance in the second game, as Saina flew to leads of 7-2 and 18-11 before wrapping up the match. “I am happy about this victory,” Saina said in an e-mail. “God helped me overcome the difficulties I had undergone in the last few days. The win here will never compensate the All England loss. I would regret that defeat always. “I could have easily reached the final there. I was not really in the game that day. Like how I regret my Olympic failure I will always rue about the bad luck last week.” The final day of the Swiss Open started at noon with women´s doubles between two Korean pairs Ha Jung Eun / Kim Min Jung and Jung Kyung Eun / Kim Ha Na. Even when the audience was still arriving, they could see number of nice rallies and net shots but the match was smoothly going to the better end for Ha Jung Eun and Kim Min Jung, who took it 21-12, 21-13. While Kim Min Jung won two major titles last year during her brief partnership with star veteran Lee Hyo Jung, for Ha, it was her first time atop a podium since late 2008 and her first time ever winning a Grand Prix title. The second match – the women´s singles final – had a very good atmosphere. Saina

Nehwal attracted a lot of Indian Swiss spectators and even when Korean Sung Ji Hyun was able to keep the shuttle long time in a play, Saina obviously had more power and energy. Obviously Indian local crowd helped Saina to keep her concentration through whole match. Both girls were trying to prepare their attacks and most of the time they played safe game with more luck on the side of Saina, who won 3 Super Series titles and one Grand Prix Gold last year but who is just getting started in 2011 with this Gold in Switzerland.

swiss open GP GOld Probably the most spectacular match became men´s doubles even when it was the fight between Korea’s 2nd and 3rd seeds. This exhibition match was full of good attacks and even better defense on both sides, long rallies and big speed. Even the stringing team had a lot of work. During this match at least 8 rackets had broken strings and one racket didn´t survive the clash of Jung and Lee.

of the match decided to throw their spare T-shirts into the stands. The last match of the day was the only one without a Korean presence. In the mixed doubles final, Denmark’s Joachim Fischer Nielsen and Christinna Pedersen took on Nathan Robertson and Jenny Wallwork of England. The match featured short rallies and long breaks in between but had a few nice moments when the spectators woke up from their lethargy. After an almost equal first game, the Danes were able to keep the shuttle in court area while English kept smashing out or into the net. From the real beginning of second game the Danes were securely walking to match point.

The spectators were happy with almost every rally and all four players deserved the applause at the end of the match. Just a little bit more successful there were Ko Sung Hyun/ Yoo Yeon Seong, who beat German Open winners Lee Yong Dae / Jung Jae Sung 21-17, 21-16. Switzerland seems to be a lucky place for Ko and Yoo. Last year, this tournament, then a Super Series, marked both their first international title together and the first time they had beaten Jung and Lee in international play. The men’s singles final between Park Sung Hwan and Lee Hyun Il was just a little more than a training match – drop, cross, net, clear, drop, cross, net, smash. Unfortunately, the most exciting moment for the spectators came when both Korean players at the end

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GUTS - A Window into World Badminton

Feb-Mar 2011

League promises megabucks A

mini badminton revolution was launched recently in Pune – the birthplace of modern badminton. An IPLstyle league finally took off, with the auction of 79 players – bringing some of them a windfall that they’d never have expected in their wildest dreams. Doubles player Jishnu Sanyal attracted the maximum bid of a whopping Rs 81,000 – peanuts by cricket standards but huge money in badminton, for this involves matches over three weekends. Pune’s national champion Aditi Mutatkar and Arundhati Pantwane shared the highest bid for the women – Rs 55,000 each. The league will be held only on Saturdays and Sundays, and will begin on May 7th at WI Sports Complex, Pune. The Amanora Maharashtra Badminton League will have six teams, who bid from among 79 players on Sunday at the O Hotel, Koregaon Park, Pune. The league is the brainchild of the Haveli Taluka Badminton Association, and is supported by the associations of Thane and Pune, under the aegis of the state association.

National champ Mutatkar was stunned when told she had won a bid for Rs 55,000. “It’s a big surprise,” she said. “I never thought this would happen during my career. It will have huge significance. It can attract juniors. This shows that people are coming forward to support badminton. The money might go up the next year, and perhaps this will even evolve into a national league.” Each team had a maximum amount of Rs 2.5 lakh to spend. Players were divided into ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ categories, depending on their level of performance. The base price for ‘A’ category was Rs 30,000, for ‘B’ category Rs25,000 and for ‘C’ category Rs15,000. Jishnu attracted the top bid from Fabulous Falcons, owned by Jain Irrigation, Jalgaon, while Aditi was bought by Sensational Skylarks (Builders Combine and Radiant Sports Management, Pune), while Arundhati was picked up by Inspiring Eagles (Pratham Motors, Pune). Uday Sane, Secretary of the organizing committee and a respected international

Teams and main players: Daring Doves: Ehsan Naqvi, Trupti Murgunde Fabulous Falcons: Jishnu Sanyal, Sayali Gokhale Flamboyant Flamingos: Ajay Jayaram, Neha Pandit Gorgeous Gannets: Akshay Dewalkar, Gauri Ghate Inspiring Eagles: Anand Pawar, Arundhati Pantwane, Prajakta Sensational Skylarks: Aditi Mutatkar, Ameya Joshi Total players available for auction: 79 (53 Men and 27 women), Men: A Category: 5 players, B Category: 9 players, C Category: 39 players, Women: A Category: 14 players, B Category: 7 players, C Category: 6 players Base Price: A Category: Rs.30,000, B: Rs.25,000, C: Rs.15000 (Base price same for both Men and Women) Maximum kitty for each team: Rs.2.5 lakh. Maximum price in Men Category A: Jishnu Sanyal from Thane Rs81,000 Maximum price in Women Category A: Aditi Mutatkar from Pune and Arundhati Pantawane from Nagpur, each Rs.55000. Player sold for maximum price in Men Category B: Eshan Naqvi from Thane bought by Daring Doves owned by Pratham Motors, Pune for Rs.66,000. Player sold for maximum price in Women Category B: Gauri Ghate from Mumbai was bought by Gorgeous Gannets owned by Indraprastha Group of Textiles, Islampur, Sangli for Rs.36,000 Player sold for maximum price in Men Category C: Varun Khanwalkar from Pune was bought by Daring Doves owned by Pratham Motors for Rs.38,000

umpire, said the money spent by teams had surprised him. “We earlier had a cap of Rs 2.25 lakh, but the team owners wanted it hiked to Rs2.5 lakh,” he told DNA. “The base price started at Rs30,000 and then shot up. That a badminton player will make Rs81,000 for three weekends is great news.” Sane was thrilled that most owners were from outside the fraternity, but had done their homework on the players. “They’re not from a badminton background at all. We had one owner from a rural place – Sangli. They want to have exhibition matches over there. The value for badminton is growing up.” Six celebrity Marathi actresses have been roped in as brand ambassadors: Bhargavi Chirmule, Sonali Khare, Kranti Redkar, Kadambari Kadam and Saee Tamhankar. Those responsible for the league were: Aniruddha Deshpande, Chairman of the Organizing Committee (MBL); Pradeep Gandhe, President of MBA; Uday Sane, Secretary of the Organizing Committee and Avinash Jadhav, Vice President, Haveli Taluka Badminton Association.

Feb-Mar 2011

Gopi still packs a punch! T he 32nd Inter-Unit Petroleum Sports Promotions Board Tournament was held in Pune from 7th to 11th February 2011. ONGC beat Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) 3-2 to win the men’s team championship title. BPCL won the women’s team title beating IOCL 2-1. What amazed everyone was the performance of national coach Gopichand, who, defying his years, beating young guns Aditya Prakash and own trainee Sai Praneeth.

In the individual event National Champion Aditi Mutatkar (BPCL) won the women’s singles beating Trupti Murgunde while in the men’s singles final, IOC’s Ajay Jayaram defeated teammate Guru Sai Dutt 21-14 21-16. V Diju and Rupesh Kumar of ONGC defeated IOC’s Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu 21-15 21-17 to lift the title. Gopi Chand put up a cameo show in the tournament beating two of the most promising youngsters of the country, Aditya Prakash and Sai Praneeth in the pre quarters and quarters respectively. However, the exertions proved a bit too much for the National Coach and he had to concede his semi-finals against Guru Sai Dutt. Men: Final: ONGC bt IOCL 3-2 (Praneeth bt Guru Sai 21-19, 9-21, 21-18; Prannoy lost to Kashyap 21-17, 18-21, 11-21; Rupesh Kumar/ Guru Sai bt P Gopichand/ Arun Vishnu 23-21, 21-10; Saurabh Verma lost to Ajay Jayaram 11-21, 19-21; V Diju / Thomas Kurien bt Guru Sai /Tarun Kona 2116, 21-23, 21-8). Women: Final: BPCL bt IOCL 2-0 (Aditi Mutatkar bt Gayatri Vartak 21-16, 21-10; Jwala Gutta/Shruti Kurien bt Aparna Balan/ Prajakta Sawant 21-18, 21-17).

Saurabh Verma eclipses the draw at Atul The All India Senior Ranking Badminton Tournament at Atul (Jan 31 to Feb 4) started off a period of frenetic badminton activity in the country. The national champions and runners-up (both men and women) gave the event a miss. The men’s final was between Saurabh Verma and Sai Praneeth. In the semis, Saurabh came on top in three close games with Nandagopal, 21-19 in the third. Praneeth once again beat his senior Guru Sai in the quarters in three games and vanquished his peer HS Prannoy 24-22 in the third in the semis.

Sindhu beat Sayali Gokhale convincingly for the women’s title. Sindhu won a double partnering Jyothsna and beating Mohita Sachdev and Meenakshi Nair in the finals of the women’s doubles.

Akshay Dewalkar and Arun Vishnu asserted their supremacy in the absence of national champs Sanave/ Rupesh and won convincingly over Sai Praneeth and Nandagopal in straight games in the final. The mixed doubles went to top seeds Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan who beat Akshay/ Jyothsna in the final.

Sameer Verma champ at Haridwar The Shree Ganga Dham All India Junior tournament followed in Haridwar from 8th to 13th February. Sameer Verma won the boys’ singles in Haridwar beating Rohit Yadav in the final and Srikant in the semifinals. Sameer, Srikant, Rohit and Pratul look to be the ones to watch out for.

india round-up In the absence of National Junior Champion Sindhu, Saili Rane scored a double winning the singles over Tanvi Lad and combining with Arathi to annex the doubles beating Ruthvika and Poorvisha. Ruthvika had a wonderful outing at Haridwar, reaching four finals of the five events she contested. She won the sub-junior doubles with Sudha Kalyani and the junior mixed doubles with Venkatesh. Harsheel Dani won a double in the sub junior boys.

Kerala lift two titles at National Games The men’s team championships of the National Games was a thrilling affair. Andhra Pradesh, by far the best state in badminton, was without Chetan Anand and Kashyap. Kerala had the best two pairs in doubles but had only one genuine contender in singles -- Prannoy. The luck of the draw favoured Kerala and Prannoy drew Nandagopal against whom he had a winning record. Despite singles wins by Sai Praneeth and Guru Sai Dutt, Kerala came through 3-2 thanks to Prannoy’s win over Nandagopal and the doubles wins. National Champs Sanave/ Rupesh beat Sai Praneeth and Nandagopal and Diju and Arun Vishu edged past Guru Sai & Tarun Kona in three games in the final match. Kerala women beat Andhra 2-1 when Aparna Balan and Thulasi beat Sikky Reddy

& Sindhu in three games and Thulasi beat Sikky in straight games. Sindhu’s win over Daya Elsa Jacob in the first match was the lone consolation for Andhra. Guru Sai Dutt won the individual men’s singles gold beating Aditya Prakash of Karnataka in three games. Arundhati Pantwane (Maharashtra) put her disappointment of the Nationals behind her to claim gold in women’s singles at the expense of Thulasi of Kerala in a three setter. Alwin Francis & Arun Vishnu won the doubles gold for Kerala beating Akshay Dewalkar and Jishnu Sanyal of Maharashtra. This event also marked the surprise defeat of multiple national champions Sanave/ Rupesh at the hands of Sai Praneeth and Tarun Kona in the first round.

Sushant Chippalkatti goes international The Sushant Chippalkatti Memorial International Junior Tournament was held in Pune from 24th to 27th February. Srikant and Sindhu won double crowns. Srikant avenged his loss at Haridwar to Sameer by beating him in three games in the final. He beat Adwitya of Indonesia in three games in the semis winning 21-19 in the third. Adwitya had beaten Pratul Joshi in the second round in probably the toughest match of the tournament 19-21-21-19, 21-19. Srikant and Hemanagendra beat Naresh & Venkatesh in the finals. These two pairs are proving to be the best two in the country as on date. Sindhu beat Tanvi Lad in three games in the final. Daya was involved in a marathon three setter against Amelia of Indonesia in the quarters which she won after serving 9 match points and saving 4. T.R. Balachandran

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GUTS - A Window into World Badminton

Feb-Mar 2011

confluence of badminton and music G

eneva: Badminton and music were united together in an extraordinary evening on Monday (March 14), with all benefits going to charity. Some 1000 people showed up for an event which showcased some of the world’s top stars: Peter Gade, Nathan Robertson, Pi Hongyan, Mathias Boe, Lee Yong Dae, Hans Kristian Vittinghus, Agnese Allegrini, Jeanine Cicognini and special guest Park Joo Bong. The badminton stars were raising money for Solibad – Badminton Without Borders, which uses badminton to support orphanages around the world. Park, Korean legend, 47 and now

head coach of the Japanese Badminton Association, showed he had not lost his amazing touch as he coped with the pace imposed by Boe and Robertson on the other side of the net. The 1996 Olympic champion teamed up with Olympic champion Lee Yong Dae for a mix of fun and high level badminton. Earlier, European legend Peter Gade put on an intense show against Indonesian Simon Santoso, before he played with some people in the public and offering his racket for a unique draw.

— came out of this evening with twinkle in their eyes,” said Solibad President Raphael Sachetat. Local artists POL – Made in Antigel – who provided the spectators with a unique “Badminton Soundsystem” show and two other artists, Alenko and Jeremie Kissling, entertained the crowd, which included officials from the United Nation bureau on sports for development and peace. Solibad in Hyderabad

More than 10,000 euros were collected from the entrance fees and sales of Solibad shirts and other souvenirs. The money will be used for ongoing projects in Indonesia, Malaysia, Haiti, Mauritius, and two new projects in Vietnam and Brazil.

To support the Solibad charity initiative, a ‘flashmob’ is being organized in various cities of the world on June 5th. (Flashmob is a group of people who suddenly assemble in a public place, perform an act for a brief time, and then disperse.) In India, Flashmob events are being planned in Hyderabad and Bangalore on the same day.

“This was just an amazing evening, both in terms of level of play and atmosphere. People who were not badminton fans — who had not even heard about the sport

The Flashmob on June 5th will have people who assemble in a public place to play badminton. Those who are interested may contact: badmintonmania@gmail.com.

Kindly bring along this issue of GUTS l Discout only on Yonex Racquets l Limited period offer l

Contact:

Baskar & 98450 27471

SPORTS LINE, #2, Queens Road, Next to Sanjayvani, Bangalore - 560052 Phone: 25903106, 41108683, Mobile: 9845027471. Email: baskar@sportslineindia.com SPORTS LINE, No.17, G.R. Complex, Old Airport Road, Domlur, Bangalore - 560 071. Phone: 25353237. Website: www.sportslineindia.com Printed & Published by Thomas J. Kunnath, P4, KSSIDC Industrial Area, Mahadevapura, Bangalore - 560 048. Printed at National Printing Press, Koramangala, Bangalore-560 095. Email: thomasjkunnath@gmail.com, badmintonmania@gmail.com