Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa beat Dutch duo Selena Piek-Eefje Muskens to win Canada Open

Indian shuttlers Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa won the Canada Open women's doubles title after upstaging the top-seeded Dutch pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek in the summit clash here.

The third-seeded Indian pair triumphed 21-19 21-16 in the contest which lasted 35 minutes. In a closely-contested opening game, Jwala and Ashwini broke away from the 19-19 and converted the lone game point opportunity to grab the initiative.

The Indians dominated the second game and raced to a 5-0 lead before going from 10-6 to 15-6 up. However, Muskens and Piek fought back to win nine points straight and tie the game at 15-15.

But Jwala and Ashwini did not let the advantage slip and won 6 of the next 7 points to clinch the title. This was Jwala and Ashwini's first title since their reunion after the 2012 London Olympics.

21-16 and the title

Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa Storm Into Canada Open Final

Calgary, Canada: India's women's badminton doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa stormed into the final of the $50,000 Canada Open Grand Prix tournament after beating Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto of Japan 21-17, 21-16 in the semi-finals.

The opening game saw fortunes fluctuating every now and then with both sets of players exchanging leads at different times here on Saturday at the Markin MacPhail Centre.

With the game tantalisingly poised at 14-14, the Commonwealth Games silver medallist duo of Jwala and Ashwini pocketed four straight points to surge ahead at 18-14. The points proved crucial as they pocketed the game 21-17.

In the second game, the Indian girls were in control as they did not allow their opponents to settle down and kept on collecting points. Jwala and Ashwini led in the whole game and eventually clinched it 21-16 and with it the match.

They will lock horns against the Netherlands pair of Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek in the title round.

Jwala-Ashwini earlier on Friday registered a 21-19, 21-13 win over Hong Kong's Chan Kaka Tsz Ka and Yuen Sin Ying in the quarter-finals.

The 2011 World Championship bronze medallists notched up a 21-19, 21-13 win over Hong Kong combo of Chan Kaka Tsz Ka Yuen Sin Ying in women's doubles competition at the Markin MacPhail Centre.

Calgary, Canada: Commonwealth Games silver medallist pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa emerged as the lone Indian survivors at the Canada Open after reaching the semifinals of the $50,000 Grand Prix badminton tournament here.

The 2011 World Championship bronze medallists notched up a 21-19, 21-13 win over Hong Kong combo of Chan Kaka Tsz Ka Yuen Sin Ying in women's doubles competition at the Markin MacPhail Centre.

The third seeds Indian pair will next take on Japan's Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto. The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallists Jwala and Ashwini had reached the semifinals of US Open Grand Prix Gold last week to attain their career-best ranking of World No. 13.

Among other Indians, B Sai Praneeth and Ajay Jayaram bowed out of the quarterfinals in the men's singles event, while women's doubles pair of Pradnya Gadre and N Sikki Reddy also suffered a loss.

The 22-year-old Praneeth, seeded 10th, went down fighting 13-21, 21-18, 11-21 to two-time silver medallist at Olympics and former World No. 1 Lee Chong Wei. It was his second successive loss to Lee in two weeks after losing to the Malaysian at the US Open semifinals.

Ninth seed Jayaram, meanwhile, lost to top seed Marc Zwiebler of Germany 16-21, 15-21 in another quarterfinal match.

In women's doubles, Pradnya and Sikki produced a gallant fight but it ended with a heartbreaking 18-21, 25-23, 15-21 loss to Poon Lok Yan and Tse Ying Suet of Hong Kong.

Ninth seed Ajay Jayaram defeated China's Huang Yuxiang 21-15, 21-16 in 34 minutes and will next take on Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo of Indonesia. Tenth seed Sai Praneeth defeated Czech Jan Frohlich in 21-14, 21-16 in 28 minutes and will face Sri Lankan Niluka Karunaratne for a place in the quarters.

Calgary, Canada: The Indian women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, men's singles shuttlers B. Sai Praneeth and Ajay Jayaram reached the quarter-finals of the $50,000 Canada Open Grand Prix at the Markin MacPhail Centre here.

The 2011 World Championships bronze medal-winning pair of Jwala-Ashwini on Thursday overcame the Dutch combination of Samantha Barning and Iris Tabeling 16-21, 21-16, 21-17 in 47 minutes.

Jwala-Ashwini, who matched their career-best rankings at 13 on Thursday, will face Hong Kong's Chan Kaka Tsz Ka and Yuen Sin Ying in the last-eight contest.

In the other women's doubles quarter-final, Indian pair of Pradnya Gadre and N. Sikki Reddy, who stunned German fourth seeds of Johanna Goliszewski and Carla Nelte 21-15, 21-12, will be up against Hong Kong's Poon Lok Yan and Tse Ying Suet.

In the men's singles pre-quarter-finals, world No.33 Sai prevailed over Sri Lankan Niluka Karunaratne 14-21, 21-15, 21-15 in 57 minutes, while world No.32 Jayaram got the better of Indonesian Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo 21-12, 17-21, 21-12 in 53 minutes.

In the next round, Sai faces a tough challenger in Malaysia's former World No.1 Lee Chong Wei, who has a 3-0 lead in head-to-head record against the national champion from India.

Two-time Olympics silver medallist Chong Wei was taken to task by Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent before the 32-year-old registered a 21-17, 20-22, 21-10 win in an hour and seven minutes.

Jayaram will face German top seed and world No.14 Marc Zwiebler, who eased past Chinese Taepei's Kuo Ching-Hung 21-13, 21-14.

Another Indian in this draw, world No.55 Anand Pawar exited the competition following his 13-21, 15-21 loss to chinese second seed Xue Song.

In further disappointing results for India, the men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy crashed out against Chinese Taipei's Jhe-Huei Lee and Yang Lee 19-21, 19-21 in 33 minutes.

Woman singles shuttler Tanvi Lad suffered a tame 14-21, 13-21 defeat against Canadian third seed and world No.15 Michelle Li.

In the mixed doubles category, Kona Tarun and Sikki lost 15-21, 15-21 in 33 minutes to German top seeds Michael Fuchs and Birgit Michels.

Saina Nehwal to Get Rs 9 Lakh for Physiotherapist Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal has been selected under Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme for financial assistance from National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) for training as part of preparation for the 2016 Olympics.

New Delhi: The sports ministry on Wednesday announced it has sanctioned financial assistance of Rs.9 lakh to Saina Nehwal on the ace woman singles shuttler's request for a full-time exclusive physiotherapist from June to the end of 2016 Olympics.

"The assistance will be utilised for payment of monthly remuneration to the physiotherapist at the rate of Rs.60,000 per month. The selection of physiotherapist has been done by Saina Nehwal herself," the ministry said in a release.

Olympic bronze medalist Saina has been selected under Target Olympic Podium (TOP) Scheme for financial assistance from National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) for training as part of preparation for the 2016 Olympics.

The World No.2 is currently training in Bengaluru at the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy at Karnataka Badminton Association.

"The financial assistance from National Sports Development Fund (NSDF), approved for the physiotherapist, is out of the contribution made by the India Infrastructure Finance Company Limited (IIFCL), under its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, to the TOP Scheme under the NSDF," the release added.

IIFCL has committed Rs.30 crore to the ministry for three years.

Ninth seed Ajay Jayaram defeated China's Huang Yuxiang 21-15, 21-16 in 34 minutes and will next take on Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo of Indonesia. Tenth seed Sai Praneeth defeated Czech Jan Frohlich in 21-14, 21-16 in 28 minutes and will face Sri Lankan Niluka Karunaratne for a place in the quarters.

Calgary, Canada: Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram, B. Sai Praneeth and Anand Pawar reached the men's singles third round at the $50,000 Canada Open Grand Prix with straight games wins in their respective second round matches here.

Tanvi Lad in women's singles and Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy, who on Thursday achieved their career-best men's doubles ranking at No.24, also won their respective openers to advance to Round 2 on Wednesday at the Markin MacPhail Centre.

Ninth seed Jayaram defeated China's Huang Yuxiang 21-15, 21-16 in 34 minutes and will next take on Wisnu Yuli Prasetyo of Indonesia. Tenth seed Sai defeated Czech Jan Frohlich in 21-14, 21-16 in 28 minutes and will face Sri Lankan Niluka Karunaratne for a place in the quarters.

Mumbai's Pawar, who is seeded 11th, also overcame another Chinese as he beat Zhu Siyuan 21-17, 21-16 in 33 minutes to set up a clash against Chinese second seed Xue Song.

In women's singles competition, Tanvi defeated American Jamie Subandhi 21-11, 21-14 in just under half an hour and will go up against Canadian third seed Michelle Li for a place in the quarters.

Fourth seeds Manu and Sumeeth played brilliantly to defeat local pair Adrian Liu and Derrick Ng 21-12, 15-21, 21-12 in 43 minutes to set up a clash against qualifiers from Chinese Taipei, Jhe-Huei Lee and Yang Lee in the second round.

Meanwhile, P.C. Thulasi was ousted from the women's singles first round by Yui Hashimoto as the Japanese won 21-8, 21-11 in 33 minutes.

Canadian pair of Phillipe Charron and Toby Ng also took care of K. Dilshad and Tarun Kona in the men's doubles opener, winning 14-21, 21-12, 21-17 in 33 minutes.

Parupalli Kashyap Aims to Shine in World Badminton Championships

Mumbai: London Olympic Games quarter-finalist Parupalli Kashyap wants to train hard for seven weeks and be at the peak of his game and fitness ahead of the August 10-16 World Badminton Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Kashyap shocked world no. 1 Chen Long of China in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Open in Jakarta after fighting back from a game down, before losing in three games in the semis to Japan's Kento Momota which he feels was, partly, because of lack of fitness.

"It (win over Chen) gave me a lot of confidence. I know all the top ten players have different styles of play. In particular situations you should know how to pull ahead and finish the match which I felt I was lacking, especially against Kento Momota of Japan in the semi-finals.

"I thought I had a good enough lead at 10-6 to finish it off in the second game itself. I just felt I did not put enough pressure on him at that time.

"In those kinds of areas a little bit more fitness is required. My fitness was not good enough to pull away from him. There's just a percentage difference between all players in top ten. If you drop that percentage you are equal to even the 30th ranked player," said the 28-year-old from Hyderabad here today.

"You need to maintain yourself at a very high level and that's what I would be looking forward to in these seven weeks before the World Championships. I will be consistent in training every day as I need to be at the top-most level of my game. Training is very important for me."

Kashyap said the win over Chen was a huge confidence boost for him, especially after a big loss to the Chinese star in Malaysia.

"For a couple of months I rated (Chen) even ahead of Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia) and (Olympic champion) Lin Dan because his performance was very good. The previous time I played him in Malaysia, I had lost badly and going into the match I wanted to do well," said the shuttler on the sidelines of an event organised by his supporter - Olympic Gold Quest -a non-profit organisation that supports Indian athletes.

The victory over Chen, a rarity for an Indian male shuttler over a world no. 1, was a big shot in the arm, said Kashyap.

In a rare treat for American fans, a packed school gym was captivated as the former World No.1 Lee Chong Wei withstood a spirited challenge from his Danish rival Hans-Kristian Vittinghus to win the Grand Prix Gold event 22-20, 21-12

New York: Lee Chong Wei savoured victory for the first time in over a year, wresting the US Open men's singles crown in an entertaining duel against Hans-Kristian Vittinghus in the $50,000 badminton tournament here.

In a rare treat for American fans, a packed school gym was captivated as the former World No.1 withstood a spirited challenge from his Danish rival to win the Grand Prix Gold event 22-20, 21-12.

The Malaysian showcased his endless arsenal of shots as he mixed attack, guile and defence to telling effect.

The maestro plotted his way back into badminton's upper echelons after an eight-month sanction for an anti-doping regulation violation.

Fittingly, the Malaysian clinched the honours with his trademark jump-smash and wrapped himself in his national flag to receive his reward from Malaysia's Consul General to New York, Abdul Razak Abdul Wahab.

Meanwhile, women's singles top seed Nozomi Okuhara of Japan defeated compatriot Sayaka Sato 21-16, 21-14 in the final. All four semi-finalists were Japanese.

China took home all the doubles titles.

Li Junhui and Liu Yuchen, the 2013 World Junior Champions, ousted India's Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy 21-12, 21-16, in the men's doubles final.

The Chinese youngsters rebounded smartly from slow starts in both games to win comfortably though it took six match points for them to get across the line.

The world number 26 Indian pair defeated fourth seeds Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan 21-17 21-17 in a 34-minute match to set up a summit clash with Chinese combo of Junhui Li and Yuchen Liu.

New York: Indian men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy reached the finals but it was curtains for B Sai Praneeth and women's doubles combo of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa at the US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here.

The world number 26 Indian pair defeated fourth seeds Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan 21-17 21-17 in a 34-minute match to set up a summit clash with Chinese combo of Junhui Li and Yuchen Liu.

India's men's singles shuttler B Sai Praneeth, however, lost to former World No. 1 and two-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei of Malaysian in the semifinals.

The 22-year-old from Andhra Pradesh lost 9-21 17-21 to Chong Wei in a 34-minute clash.

Commonwealth Games silver medallists Jwala and Ashwini, seeded fourth, also suffered a defeat at the hands of Japanese pair of Ayane Kurihara and Naru Shinoya 17-21 11-21 to bow out of the tournament.

Sai Praneeth eased past Hong Kong's 12th seed NG Ka Long Angus 21-8 21-14 in 32 minutes. Praneeth will now face former world No.1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia for a place in the final.

New York: India's men singles shuttler B Sai Praneeth along with two other doubles pairs advanced to the semifinals of the USD 120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here.

The 22-year-old from Andhra Pradesh thrashed Hong Kong's NG Ka Long Angus, seeded 12, 21-8 21-14 in a lop-sided quarterfinals that lasted just 32 minutes at the Suffolk County Community College.

The 16th seeded Indian will next meet former World No. 1 and two-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei of Malaysian.

Commonwealth Games silver medallists Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, seeded fourth, also notched up a 21-17 21-14 win over seventh seeded German pair of Johanna Goliszewski and Carla Nelte in the women's doubles.

The 2011 World Championship bronze medallists will next take on Japanese combo of Ayane Kurihara and Naru Shinoya in the final four.

Indian men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy earned a hard-fought victory over Englandcombo of Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge 22-20 21-13 to make it to the semifinals.

They will play fourth seeds Takeshi Kamura and Keigo Sonoda of Japan.

Sai Praneeth, seeded 16th, had to toil hard in his pre-quarterfinal match against Huang Yuxiang of China before emerging 21-17 16-21 21-18 victorious in 58 minutes at the Suffolk County Community College facility. He now takes on 12th seed Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong for a place in the semifinals.

New York: Sai Praneeth sailed into the quarterfinals after a hard-earned victory while compatriots Ajay Jayaram and R M V Gurusaidutt lost their respective men's singles matches as Indians had a mixed day at the USD 120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here.

Praneeth, seeded 16th, had to toil hard in his pre-quarterfinal match against Huang Yuxiang of China before emerging 21-17 16-21 21-18 victorious in 58 minutes at the Suffolk County Community College facility. He now takes on 12th seed Ng Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong for a place in the semifinals.

It was, however, curtains for Gurusaidutt and Jayaram as they lost to Japanese ninth seed Takuma Ueda (20-22 21-13 16-21) and top seed Chinese Taipei shuttler Chou Tien Chen (18-21 19-21) respectively in their pre-quarterfinal matches.

Meanwhile, fourth seeded women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa notched up a 21-10 21-18 straight-game win over Turkish pair of Ozge Bayrak and Neslihan Yigit in 24 minutes to enter the quarterfinals. The India duo now takes on seventh seeded German pair of Johanna Goliszewski and Carla Nelte in the quarterfinals.

In men's doubles, unseeded Indian duo of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy shocked second seeded Japanese pair of Hirokatsu Hashimoto and Noriyasu Hirata 21-18 14-21 21-19 in their pre-quarterfinal match. They play against English pair of Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge in the quarterfinals.

Ajay Jayaram beat Czech Republic's Jan Frohlich, 16th seed Sai Praneeth overcame Danish Christian Lind Thomsen and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Gurusaidutt defeated compatriot Anand Pawar.

New York: Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram, R.M.V. Gurusaidutt and B. Sai Praneeth notched up contrasting wins to enter the men's singles third round at the $120,000 US Open Grand Prix Gold being played at the Suffolk County Community College here.

While 14th seed Jayaram beat Czech Republic's Jan Frohlich 21-9, 21-7 in 21 minutes, 16th seed Sai overcame Danish Christian Lind Thomsen 13-21, 21-9, 21-10 in 48 minutes on Wednesday. Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Gurusaidutt defeated compatriot Anand Pawar 18-21, 21-11, 22-20 in 56 minutes also to advance to the pre-quarter-finals.

Meanwhile, women's doubles fourth seeds Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa easily trumped Japanese pair of Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara 21-16, 21-14 in 29 minutes to enter the second round.

Later, Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy beat compatriots K. Dilshad and Tarun Kona 21-16, 21-9 in 21 minutes to also proceed to men's doubles second round.

However, Saili Rane suffered an opening round defeat in women's singles as she went down to Japan's Yui Hashimoto 17-21, 11-21 in 35 minutes. Another Japanese Sayaka Sato accounted for P.C. Thulasi, winning 21-15, 21-6 in half an hour.

Later, Chinese Taipei's Lu Chia Pin and Chia Hsin Lee beat Kona and N. Sikki Reddy 21-18, 21-16 in 29 minutes in mixed doubles first round while Japan's Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto took care of Pradnya Gadre and Sikki 21-18, 22-20 in 30 minutes in women's doubles first round.

HS Prannoy achieved his career-best ranking while Kidambi Srikanth remained the top ranked Indian shuttler at No. 3.

New Delhi: Indian shuttler H.S. Prannoy rose a place to be at No.12 in the men's singles rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday.

This is the 22-year-old Kerala shuttler's career-best ranking.

Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth remained the top ranked Indian shuttler at No.3 while reigning Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap is at No.10.

In women's singles, Saina Nehwal stayed at No.2 while P.V. Sindhu is placed at No.14.

Women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa are at No.15.

There are no Indians in the top-25 of the men's and mixed doubles rankings.

Saina Nehwal improved a place to reach the second spot in women's singles ranking. Parupalli Kashyap jumped two spots to return to top-10.

New Delhi: Riding on a semi-final finish at the Indonesia Super Series Premier badminton tournament, Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap jumped two spots to regain his place inside the top-10 in the latest BWF's world ranking, release on Thursday.

A former World No. 6, Kashyap, who became the first Indian in 14 years to beat a reigning world number one player when he eked out a hard-fought 14-21 21-17 21-14 win over Chen Long of China last week, rose two places to grab the 10th spot in men's singles ranking.

Compatriot K Srikanth continued to be the best-placed Indian male shuttler at the third position, while Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, too, improved a place to reach the second spot in women's singles ranking.

Two-time bronze medallist at the World Championship, PV Sindhu remained static at 14th owing to her loss to Hsu Ya Ching of Chinese Taipei in the first round of Indonesia Open.

Commonwealth Games silver medallist pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also surged ahead to reach the 15th spot in the women's doubles category after improving two places.

No Indian men's or mixed doubles pairs were inside the top-25 ranking.

P Kashyap gave a strong performance at the Indonesian Open before losing to eighth seed Japanese Momota Kento in the semis.

Ahmedabad: National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Sunday said shuttler P Kashyap, who crashed out of the Indonesia Open with a semifinal loss, should be given some more time to become consistent.

Gopichand also praised Kashyap on his victory against world number one Chen Long in the quarterfinals. "When I started coaching there was a time they said that Indian men and women have done well. Then there came a point when Saina (Nehwal) was there and then we had (P V) Sindhu. And suddenly there was a question that only Indian women seemed to be coming up and why not Indian men," Gopichand said.

"Today we see somebody like Srikanth, Kashyap and Prannoy there. All of them are doing well. Definitely, we have it in us and just another step forward we will even get those results. It was fantastic to see Kashyap win against Chen Long. I think he needs some more time to be consistent," he added.

Kashyap was ousted from Indonesian Open Super Series on Saturday with a semifinal loss to eighth seed Japanese Momota Kento. Earlier, he had defeated world number one Chen Long of China in quarterfinals on June 5.

Gopichand, the first sportsperson to be awarded both Arjuna and Dronacharya awards, was in the city for an event organised by the 'Sport Authority of Gujarat', where he has been roped in as the coach of a proposed badminton academy in Vadodara.

Asked if India would dominate the international badminton arena in the near future, he expressed confidence that the Indian shuttlers would scale higher heights.

"Burdens like this (dominance) will definitely help. I think larger the pool of players who are getting the right kind of training more and more players will be pumped into the top areas of world badminton. In that we will spur to higher heights, this is what my belief is," he said.

Gopichand applauded Indian shuttlers for their performance in doubles matches. "In the last few years...we have seen women's and men's badminton come up and if you look at last few rounds we had some good performances from Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa," he said.

"But if you look at Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Atri, they have done well to beat world top ten players in Asian Games and then in the world championship. We had also some good performance from our mixed doubles," he added.

Gopichand also expressed hope that Gujarat would give champions in the sport. "I am excited! It's great news to see the kind of support and encouragement for sports in general in Gujarat and definitely badminton should not lag behind. That is what my belief is and hopefully we will have many more champions from Gujarat state," he said.

Asked about his observations on what Gujarat lacked in terms of sports, Gopichand said the state needs better infrastructure and support.

"The moment you put these two things in place you give them the infrastructure or the coaching and the system which is required to nurture," he added.

"I am sure there is a talent in abundance (in Gujarat) and we just need to work hard. We need to give them right facilities and right encouragement. I am positive with the right kind of training with young kids who will give us good results," he said.

Gopichand also said apart from Gujarat, he will also train badminton players of Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Director General of Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) Sandip Pradhan said around four players will be trained at the academy by at least four coaches.

He also said that the SAG is planning to get an Indonesian expert coach apart from Gopichand.

World No.9 Momota upset world No.2 Jorgensen with a 16-21, 21-19, 21-7 while world No.6 Ratchanok beat Japan's world No.35 Yui Hashimoto 21-12, 21-10 in 42 minutes.

Jakarta: Japanese rising star shuttler Kento Momota upstaged Denmark's defending champion and third seed Jan O. Jorgensen in the men's singles final, while Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon clinched the women's singles title at the $800,000 Indonesia Open Superseries Premier here on Sunday.

World No.9 Momota upset world No.2 Jorgensen with a 16-21, 21-19, 21-7 victory in an hour and six minutes to pocket $60,000 million at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. This was the 20-year-old's second victory in a Superseries event. Incidentally, the 2012 world junior champion's first win came this year at the Singapore Open.

In the women's singles final, former world champion and world No.6 Ratchanok beat Japan's world No.35 Yui Hashimoto 21-12, 21-10 in 42 minutes.

Meanwhile South Korea's Ko Sung Hyun and Shin Baek Choel beat China's Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan 21-16, 16-21, 21-19 in 53 minutes to win the men's double title.

In the women's singles final, China's Tang Jinhua and Tian Qing defeated Indonesia's Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Grysia Polii 21-11, 21-10 in 45 minutes.

The mixed doubles title went to Xu Chen and Ma Jin, who beat Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei 21-17, 21-16 in 45 minutes in an all-Chinese final.

India's campaign ended on Saturday following Parupalli Kashyap's loss to Momota in the semi-final.

P Kashyap gave a strong performance at the Indonesian Open before losing to eighth seed Japanese Momota Kento in the semis

Ahmedabad: National badminton coach Pullela Gopichand on Sunday said shuttler P Kashyap, who crashed out of the Indonesia Open with a semifinal loss, should be given some more time to become consistent.

Gopichand also praised Kashyap on his victory against world number one Chen Long in the quarterfinals. "When I started coaching there was a time they said that Indian men and women have done well. Then there came a point when Saina (Nehwal) was there and then we had (P V) Sindhu. And suddenly there was a question that only Indian women seemed to be coming up and why not Indian men," Gopichand said.

"Today we see somebody like Srikanth, Kashyap and Prannoy there. All of them are doing well. Definitely, we have it in us and just another step forward we will even get those results. It was fantastic to see Kashyap win against Chen Long. I think he needs some more time to be consistent," he added.

Kashyap was ousted from Indonesian Open Super Series on Saturday with a semifinal loss to eighth seed Japanese Momota Kento. Earlier, he had defeated world number one Chen Long of China in quarterfinals on June 5.

Gopichand, the first sportsperson to be awarded both Arjuna and Dronacharya awards, was in the city for an event organised by the 'Sport Authority of Gujarat', where he has been roped in as the coach of a proposed badminton academy in Vadodara.

Asked if India would dominate the international badminton arena in the near future, he expressed confidence that the Indian shuttlers would scale higher heights.

"Burdens like this (dominance) will definitely help. I think larger the pool of players who are getting the right kind of training more and more players will be pumped into the top areas of world badminton. In that we will spur to higher heights, this is what my belief is," he said.

Gopichand applauded Indian shuttlers for their performance in doubles matches. "In the last few years...we have seen women's and men's badminton come up and if you look at last few rounds we had some good performances from Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa," he said.

"But if you look at Sumeeth Reddy and Manu Atri, they have done well to beat world top ten players in Asian Games and then in the world championship. We had also some good performance from our mixed doubles," he added.

Gopichand also expressed hope that Gujarat would give champions in the sport. "I am excited! It's great news to see the kind of support and encouragement for sports in general in Gujarat and definitely badminton should not lag behind. That is what my belief is and hopefully we will have many more champions from Gujarat state," he said.

Asked about his observations on what Gujarat lacked in terms of sports, Gopichand said the state needs better infrastructure and support.

"The moment you put these two things in place you give them the infrastructure or the coaching and the system which is required to nurture," he added.

"I am sure there is a talent in abundance (in Gujarat) and we just need to work hard. We need to give them right facilities and right encouragement. I am positive with the right kind of training with young kids who will give us good results," he said.

Gopichand also said apart from Gujarat, he will also train badminton players of Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Director General of Sports Authority of Gujarat (SAG) Sandip Pradhan said around four players will be trained at the academy by at least four coaches.

He also said that the SAG is planning to get an Indonesian expert coach apart from Gopichand.

World No.9 Momota upset world No.2 Jorgensen with a 16-21, 21-19, 21-7 while world No.6 Ratchanok beat Japan's world No.35 Yui Hashimoto 21-12, 21-10 in 42 minutes as they Claim Indonesia Open Badminton Titles

Jakarta: Japanese rising star shuttler Kento Momota upstaged Denmark's defending champion and third seed Jan O. Jorgensen in the men's singles final, while Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon clinched the women's singles title at the $800,000 Indonesia Open Superseries Premier here on Sunday.

World No.9 Momota upset world No.2 Jorgensen with a 16-21, 21-19, 21-7 victory in an hour and six minutes to pocket $60,000 million at the Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. This was the 20-year-old's second victory in a Superseries event. Incidentally, the 2012 world junior champion's first win came this year at the Singapore Open.

In the women's singles final, former world champion and world No.6 Ratchanok beat Japan's world No.35 Yui Hashimoto 21-12, 21-10 in 42 minutes.

Meanwhile South Korea's Ko Sung Hyun and Shin Baek Choel beat China's Fu Haifeng and Zhang Nan 21-16, 16-21, 21-19 in 53 minutes to win the men's double title.

In the women's singles final, China's Tang Jinhua and Tian Qing defeated Indonesia's Nitya Krishinda Maheswari and Grysia Polii 21-11, 21-10 in 45 minutes.

The mixed doubles title went to Xu Chen and Ma Jin, who beat Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei 21-17, 21-16 in 45 minutes in an all-Chinese final.

India's campaign ended on Saturday following Parupalli Kashyap's loss to Momota in the semi-final.

Parupalli Kashyap lost 21-12, 17-21, 19-21 against Japan's Kento Momota on Saturday Bows Out in Semis of Indonesia Open Badminton

Jakarta: Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap's splendid run at the $800,000 Indonesia Open Superseries Premier ended on Saturday as he lost to Japanese rising star Kento Momota 21-12, 17-21, 19-21 in the men's singles semifinal here.

Kashyap, 28, was bidding to reach the summit clash of a Superseries tournament for the first time and set it up beautifully with a stunning 21-12 victory in the first game over world No.9 Momota.

But the 20-year-old Japanese scripted a stunning comeback to claim the second game before fighting hard to clich the third and won the match in an hour and 16 minutes at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. Following Kashyap's loss, India's campaign in the tournament also ended as he and Saina Nehwal were the only ones who reached the quarter-finals on Friday. Saina lost to China's Shixian Wang in a final eight contest.

With this win, two-time world junior champion Momota reached the final of the Superseries for the second time in this year and also took a 2-0 lead in career meetings over the 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist Kashyap.

Kashyap, who defeated world No.8 Son Wan ho and world No.1 Chen Long in the second round and quarter-finals, respectively, played an aggressive game from the beginning. His aggression helped him earn eight consecutive points to take a huge lead at 17-8 and that gave him a 21-12 win.

But 2015 Singapore Open champion Momota fought back and turned the heat on Kashyap from the start in the second game. Making his intentions clear, he raced to a 5-1 lead. But Kashyap unleashed high jump smashes to snatch consecutive eight points to build a 9-5 advantage.

However, Momota's sharp net game helped him equalise at 11-11 and the game witnesses a see-saw battle till the 17-point mark before Momota sealed it by taking four points on the trot to make it 1-1.

In the third game, both Kashyap and Momota didn't allow each other to gain advantage till the 10-point mark before Kashyap showed moved ahead by taking a two straight points. But Momota's delectable drop shots kept Kashyap in check.

Even though the Hyderabadi shuttler again showed his ascendancy by taking a four-point lead at 17-13, a combative Momota refused to go down. Riding on five consecutive points, the Japanese sealed the game 21-19 and with this the match.

In the final Momota awaits the winner between Denmark's world No.2 and defending champion Jan O Jorgensen and Germany's world No.19 Marc Zwiebler.

Saina Nehwal lost to Shixian Wang of China 21-16, 12-21, 18-21 in the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open on Friday.

Jakarta: Saina Nehwal bowed out with a quarterfinal loss to familiar foe Wang Shixian in the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton tournament here on Friday.

Saina snatched the momentum quite early as she raced to a 11-5 lead and built on it quite aggressively to clinch the opening game in 30 minutes.

But the experienced Wang roared back in the second game to draw level and make the battle interesting.

Saina had the initial edge in the decider, grabbing a 6-3 lead but Wang did not allow her to run away with it by making it 6-6.

A see-saw battle followed and the two players were locked 8-8 before Saina nosed ahead with a 15-10 lead. However, Wang fought back yet again to draw level at 15-15 and 17-17.

The Chinese star took the lead from there on and held her nerves to outwit the Indian, who has triumphed here in 2009, 2010 and 2012.

Parupalli Kashyap Stuns World No. 1 Chen Long 14-21, 21-17, 21-14 To Reach Indonesia Open Badminton Semis

India's 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning shuttler Parupalli Kashyap stunned China's world No.1 and top seed Chen Long 14-21, 21-17, 21-14 to reach the semi-finals of the $800,000 Indonesia Open Superseries Premier here on Friday.

Reigning world champion Chen began on a positive note against world No.12 Kashyap, winning seven consecutive points to clinch the first game 21-14 at ease at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

But the Indian came back strongly to win three consecutive points to level up things by taking the set 21-17, in what can be called a close encounter.

The deciding set saw Kashyap in full flow right from the word go. Winning five consecutive points to take a healthy lead which made life difficult for the top seed to come back into the match.

By winning 21 points out of 35 played, Kashyap sealed the game 21-14 and the match, thus booking his place in the semi-finals.

With this win, Kashyap also improved his head-to-head record against the Chinese to 2-7.

Later in the day, world No.3 Saina Nehwal faces world No.7 Wang Shixian in quarter-finals.

World No.3 Kidambi Srikanth went down 21-14 20-22 13-21 to unseeded Ginting Anthony in pre-quarters, Parupalli Kashyap Enter Quarters

Jakarta: Saina Nehwal breezed past Chinese Taipei's Hsu Ya Ching while Parupalli Kashyap stunned World No.5 Son Wan Ho in straight games to make it to the quarterfinals of the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton tournament here on Thursday.

Saina, who slipped to world number 3 on Thursday, thrashed Ching 21-13 21-15 in a 36-minute contest to set up a clash with old foe Shixian Wang in the women's singles quarters.

Kashyap, meanwhile, upstaged Ho 21-11 21-14 in just 36 minutes and will face top seed Chen Long in the men's singles quarterfinal.

However, Kidambi Srikanth bowed out after going down 21-14 20-22 13-21 to Ginting Anthony of Indonesia in a battle that lasted 54 minutes.

Saina, seeded second, put up a thoroughly clinical performance against her unseeded rival, clinching the first game in a mere 14 minutes.

Ching fought a tad harder in the second game but Saina dominated the proceedings just enough to pocket the match in just over half an hour.

World no. 12, Kashyap came up with a clinical display against Wan Ho, winning a total of 42 points as compared to just 25 won by the Korean.

The opening game turned out to be a cake walk for Kashyap. Having opened up a 4-0 lead, the shuttler from Hyderabad simply dominated the proceedings.

Kashyap continued to surge ahead and the closest the Korean could reach was 4-7 at one stage in the first game.

In the second game, Wan Ho bounced back with a 2-0 lead to begin with but Kashyap soon caught up with him at 3-3 and the battle continued till 6-6 before the Indian reeled off six points on the trot to make it 12-6.

There was no looking back for Kashyap thereafter and he eventually sealed the game and the match pretty comfortably.

Saina Nehwal slipped to the third position after she failed to defend her Australian Open title last month. Reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui regained the top spot.

Jakarta: India's Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal lost her top spot, sliding to the third position, in the Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings released on Thursday.

Reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui regained the top spot. Saina failed to defend her Australian Open title last month. Both have advanced to the first round of the Indonesia Open.

Saina currently has 79192 points in the third spot, a rung below Spain's Carolina Marin (80752), who won the Australian Open title. China's Xuerui is on top with 85217.

Saina had become the first Indian woman to reach No.1 on April 2 after finishing runner-up to reigning world champion Marin at All England Superseries and winning the India Open in March.

In the men's singles, India's Kidambi Srikanth climbed up a place to No.3 -- a spot ahead of five-time world champion Lin Dan. Commonwealth Games 2014 champion Parupalli Kashyap is the next best Indian at No.12, followed by H.S. Prannoy, who rose a spot to No.13.

Commonwealth Games 2010 gold medallists Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also rose a place to be ranked No.17 in women's doubles.

There are no Indians in the top-25 of men's and mixed doubles rankings.

P Kashyap, who ousted Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in the first round, registered a resounding 21-11, 21-14 win over world No.8 Son Wan Ho of South Korea.

Jakarta: India's 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning shuttler Parupalli Kashyap entered the quarter-finals but Kidambi Srikanth and women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost in the pre-quarterfinals of the $800,000 Indonesia Open Superseries Premier here on Thursday.

Kashyap, who ousted Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in the first round, registered a resounding 21-11, 21-14 win over world No.8 Son Wan Ho of South Korea at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium. With this win, World No.12 Indian improved his head-to-head record to 2-3 against Son.

However, the World No.4 Indian suffered a shocking 21-14, 20-22, 13-21 loss against Indonesia's World No.166 Ginting Anthony.

In the women's doubles competition, the Indian pair of Jwala-Ashwini was thrashed 8-21, 8-21 by China's Yu Yang and Zhong Qianxin. India's men's doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar also ended their campaign losing 13-21, 11-21 to China's Chai Biao and Hong Wei.

Denmark's third seed Jan O Jorgensen overcame Indonesian Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka to enter the round-of-eight in the men's singles category.

Later in the day, Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal will face Chinese Taipei's Hsu Ya Ching, who defeated two-time World Championships bronze medallist P.V. Sindhu in the opening round on Wednesday.

Second seed Saina Nehwal got the better of Thai Nichaon Jindapon 21-16 21-18 in 35 minutes. Parupalli Kashyap overcame Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-17 21-7 in just 29 minutes

Jakarta: World number one Saina Nehwal disposed off Thai Nichaon Jindapon's challenge in straight games but PV Sindhu crashed out of the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton tournament following a close first-round defeat, here on Wednesday.

Second seed Saina got the better of her Thai opponent 21-16 21-18 in 35 minutes.

Sindhu's defeat though prevented an all-Indian second round clash as both the Indian girls are in the bottom half.

Sindhu lost her gruelling first round 21-16 15-21 14-21 to Chinese Taipei's Ya Ching Hsu in 49 minutes. Saina will now take on Ching Hsu for a place in the women's singles quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, in the men's singles Parupalli Kashyap overcame Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-17 21-7 in just 29 minutes to advance to the second round.

World number 14 Kashyap next faces fifth seed Korean Wan Ho Son.

Later in the day, Kidambi Srikanth will open his campaign against Danish Hans-Kristian Vittin, ranked 15th in the world.

In the women's doubles the Indian pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will open their campaign against Taipei's team of Ya Ching Hsu and Yu Po Pai.

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa have been the beacon of light for India in badminton doubles.

Ahmedabad: Olympian Aparna Popat on Tuesday asked the country's badminton authorities to lay more emphasis on doubles play to complement Indian shuttlers' rapid rise in singles at the international level, led by Saina Nehwal.

"We have seen a total revolution in Indian badminton through the last five or six years, especially with players like Saina, (P V) Sindhu and (Kidambi) Srikanth hitting the big league. This provides us with the opportunity to plan ahead and reap the rewards and I think doubles is one key factor where we have to focus right now," said the former nine-time national champion at a panel discussion here today.

"This is particularly because we lost some ground after failing to cash in on the world championship (bronze) medal won by Jwala (Gutta) and Ashwini (Ponnappa). Though some effort has been made during recent years to identify players capable of doing well in doubles, I still feel that this area is still neglected," said the former shuttler during the ongoing 38th national convention of the Sports Journalists' Federation of India here.

"Players should be identified as ones who are capable to play singles and doubles right at a young age and trained accordingly. Also, support has to be given in terms of not only coaching but in the case of scientific factors as well," she noted.

Two other Olympians, Anup Sridhar and Nikhil Kanetkar, were also part of the hour-long discussion about how to take Indian badminton forward.

Anup laid emphasis on the development of a national league both for singles and doubles.

"The league should see the participation of all our top players and run into several weeks so that interest for the game is also generated among the masses. The league should also have a sufficient prize fund which would help players to approach the game professionally," said Anup.

"To groom more players, it is also required to establish state-of-the art academies throughout the country. One thing which is quite essential at the academies is the availability of quality coaches and support staff.� This, of course, requires a lot of money and to that end I think that we require the unstinted support of both the union and state governments," said the former national men's champion.

Kanetkar, who is currently running an academy in Pune, spoke at length about the difficulties in getting sponsorship which was essential in ensuring a steady supply of shuttles.

"The best way to groom youngsters is to teach them the correct techniques at a young age. This is where the patience of coaches is often tested. Once we have more champion players, it is certain that we will draw more youngsters to the game. It is out of quantity that we would able to derive quality," said the former shuttler.

The seminar was inaugurated by the Gujarat Sports Minister, Nanubhai Vanani.

World No.1 Saina, who has won here in 2009, 2010 and 2012, has been seeded second in the women's singles category, while world No.4 Srikanth is seeded fourth in the men's singles competition

Jakarta: Following a disappointing Australian Open, leading Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth will look to bounce back at the $800,000 Indonesia Open Super Series Premier starting at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno Stadium here on Tuesday.

World No.1 Saina, who has won here in 2009, 2010 and 2012, has been seeded second in the women's singles category, while world No.4 Srikanth is seeded fourth in the men's singles competition.

Apart from the duo, two-time World Championships bronze medallist P.V. Sindhu, Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap, 2011 World Championships bronze medal-winning women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa are also getting ready for the challenge.

Other Indians competing in the event are Manu Attri, B. Sumeeth Reddy, Pranaav Jerry Chopra, Akshay Dewalkar, H. S. Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram.

In men's singles round one, Kashyap faces Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, whereas Srikanth faces Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus -- both have won one match each in head-to-head record.

In the women's singles event, Sindhu faces Hsu Ya-Ching, while London Olympics bronze medallist Saina faces Thailand's Nichaon Jindapon against whom the Indian has won all her three meetings. If both the Hyderabadi girls win, they will be up against each other in the second round.

Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar face the Canadian pair of Adrian Liu and Derrick N.G. while India's Manu and Sumeeth face Taiwan's Lee Sheng Mu and Tpetsai Chia Hsin in the men's doubles first round. There will be no Indian representation in mixed doubles.

In the women's doubles event, two-time Commonwealth Games medallists Jwala and Ashwini meet the Japanese pair of Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao in the first round.

China's world champion Chen Long is the top seed in men's singles, while Olympic champion Li Xuerui will defend her crown as the top seed.

The qualifying matches for the main round will be held on Tuesday.

Reigning world champion Chen Long defeated Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 21-12, 14-21, 21-18 in an hour and 17 minutes, while current world champion and third seeded Carolina got the better of China's former world No.1 and fifth seeded Shixian Wang 22-20, 21-18 in 58 minutes in the final at the Sydney Olympic Park.

Sydney: China's world No.1 shuttler Chen Long and Spain's Carolina Marin won the men's and women's singles titles, respectively, at the Australian Open Super Series here on Sunday.

Reigning world champion Chen defeated Viktor Axelsen of Denmark 21-12, 14-21, 21-18 in an hour and 17 minutes, while current world champion and third seeded Carolina got the better of China's former world No.1 and fifth seeded Shixian Wang 22-20, 21-18 in 58 minutes in the final at the Sydney Olympic Park.

Axelsen's nerves against the world champion were showing, pushing the shuttle wide on the Chinese's right side. Chen kept his cool under the power of Axelsen, using his experience to strike when needed, taking the first game 21-12, reports Xinhua.

"These days men's singles is very hard. If you loose the first, you might loose everything," Chen said. "It doesn't matter if you are number one or number two. You have to prepare for everything."

World No.9 Axelsen changed his strategy to combat the technical skill of Chen, using soft drop shots rather then raw power, opening up a six-point lead at 14-19. Chen fell flat on his feet under pressure, loosing the second game 14-21.

"I was quite tense in the first game, but I just tried to focus on things I could do to get into a good rhythm," Axelsen said.

The showdown of the third game served up the best badminton of the tournament. Chen regained his nerves, using technical skill and quick thinking to open an early 4-1 lead.

Chen Long after winning the men's singles title at the Australian Open.

© AFP

Axelsen responded, forcing Chen to commit uncharacteristic errors, taking the lead at 10-11. Chen responded with experience, forcing Axelsen to play shots he didn't want to and make mistakes at the net, opening a lead to 20-16.

Axelsen used his height and power to regain ground; sending winners tight down the court lines, closing to 20-18.

A deep smash by Chen sent the Dane calling for a challenge, however it became the final point of the game