Bhat loses close contest,Kashyap has it easy

Arvind Bhat put up a gallant fight but went down to ninth seed Yu Hsing Hsieh of Chinese Taipei in a thrilling encounter in the World Championships.

Aravind Bhat,who is anything but a tantrum-thrower,could be excused his rare venting of frustration when he flung his racquet wildly and uncharacteristically onto the side of the court at the end of his hour-long match on Tuesday. Playing his opener at the World Championships,Bhat had staved off three match points against ninth seed Yu Hsing Hsieh of Taipei,frittered one of his own on a risky net-dribble,and gone on to half-assuredly smash disastrously into the net to lose 21-14 19-21 24-22.

The 29-year-old had been brave to hold onto his lead in the second set after losing the first 14-21 from the disadvantageous side of the drift on court. When the Taipei shuttler racked up five straight points at 17-all in the second,Bhat had stepped up his own attack,and forced the matter into the decider. Drawing level at 20-20 after trailing 4-11,Bhat had a chance to seal the game at 22-21,but a tight net shot proved to be his undoing.

Its happened many times in my career. More than I can imagine, he said later,adding that hed fought well and done most things right. Hes not so difficult to beat,hence the disappointment. Maybe I consciously need to cool myself,like after Id frittered the match point. It wasnt all lost after that,you know. I couldve stayed calm, he rued.

Kashyap beats Shahhosseini

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P Kashyaps opponent Ali Shahhosseini on Tuesday who the Indian beat 21-9 21-13 had a build more like a bulky boxer than a fleet-footed shuttler,but the Hyderabad player will need to be prepared for all the speed,strength and steep smashes that can be packed into a human body when he faces Chinese world No 2 Chen Jin next. Typically Chinese with his robotic precision in retrieving when bending low to the ground,and attacking when connecting with the shuttle really high,Chen Jin poses a towering challenge. The Chinese player eased past Dutchman Eric Pang 21-14 21-19. Fourth seed Taufik Hidayat brushed aside Switzerlands Christian Boesiger 21-14 21-14. However,Danish seventh seed Joachim Persson was beaten 16-21 21-14 21-13 by Japans Kenichi Tago.

Nehwal starts

The biggest draw on day three,though,would be Saina Nehwals opening match against Anastasia Prokopenko. The lean,quick Russian seemed intimidated at the prospect when she said,Shes very good,Ill need to play my own game,not match hers. Nehwal,though,would be keenly watched for her fitness after her recovery from chicken pox before she moves onto bigger challenges.