Kashyap humbles Chen; Saina overcomes Yuswandari

June 14, 2012 06:45 pm | Updated July 12, 2016 03:09 am IST - JAKARTA

Kashyap Parupalli. File Photo

Kashyap Parupalli. File Photo

P. Kashyap entered his maiden Super Series quarterfinals, stunning top seed Chen Long of China, in the Indonesia Open badminton tournament here on Thursday.

Saina Nehwal, too, overcame a spirited challenge from Indonesian Aprilla Yuswandari to make the last eight stage in the women's singles event.

Kashyap, ranked 26th, outplayed Chen 21-17, 21-14 in 45 minutes of sensational badminton for his first win over the World No. 3.

Saina expectedly made the quarterfinals, beating Yuswandari 21-17, 14-21, 21-13 in the second round.

Kashyap, who qualified for the London Olympics ahead of Ajay Jayaram, was consistent with his smashes and net play against the 2010 Asian Games gold medallist.

The Hyderabadi was able to come back after trailing initially in both the games.

Chen, on the other hand, looked tired towards the end and hit a forehand wide as Kashyap registered the biggest win of his career.

Praise from Gopi Chand

“He played consistently and was aggressive when he needed to be. I was particularly impressed with his net play,” said National coach P. Gopi Chand, who is here with the Indian contingent.

Asked if he planned anything different for Kashyap before the match, Gopi Chand said: “Not really, to be honest. We keep changing the strategy from time to time.

“He kept the shuttle in play just for the right time and it paid off against a top player.”

Kashyap next faces 16th-ranked Dane Hans-Kristian Vittinghus, who got the better of Chinese Taipei's Hyun Il Lee 22-10, 21-11.

India's top-ranked men's player at No.23, Jayaram lost his second round match to Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia 15-21, 14-21.

To meet Shixian

Earlier in the day, Saina got past the 46th-ranked Yuswandari in 59 minutes.

The World No. 5 next plays higher-ranked Chinese Shixian Wang, who beat Singapore's Juan Gu 21-12, 21-11.

Saina, who won the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold event last Sunday, will go into Friday's match with confidence. She has a 2-1 head-to-head record against Shixian, her recent win over the World No. 4 coming in straight games in March at the Swiss Open.

P.V. Sindhu, however, lost to Germany's Juliane Schenk 21-14, 21-14.

In mixed doubles, V. Diju and G. Jwala went down fighting to the Chinese combination of Tao Jiaming and Xia Huan 13-21, 21-14, 18-21 in an encounter that lasted 41 minutes.

The results (involving Indians):

Men: Second round: P. Kashyap bt Chen Long 21-17, 21-14; Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka bt Ajay Jayaram 21-15, 21-14.

Women: Saina Nehwal bt Aprilla Yuswandari 21-17, 14-21, 21-13; Juliane Schenk bt P.V. Sindhu 21-14, 21-14.

Mixed doubles: Tao Jiaming & Xia Hua bt V. Diju & G. Jwala 21-13, 14-21, 21-18.

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