India blanked too soon

Weijie Gong is not a name that flashes on the mens singles top10 charts of badminton yet...

Weijie Gong is not a name that flashes on the mens singles top10 charts of badminton yet,but it is a pointer to the seemingly bottomless depth of the Chinese challenge in the sport. The former world junior finalist is ranked 58th in the world and is close to the second tier of Chinese dominance. He ensured the disappointing day for Indian players at the All England Super Series would continue when he beat Aravind Bhat 21-19 22-20 late on Wednesday.

Chetan Anand,No 13 in the world,meanwhile,went down 6-21 21-17 21-12 to lower-ranked Andrew Smith,ending Indias All-England singles campaign all too early. Smith had earlier beaten Bhat at the German Super Series,and these losses indicate that it is a steep climb for the Indians even before they start consistently challenging the likes of Lee Chong Wei and Lin Dan.

Anup Sridhar,carving his comeback path from injury,went down 21-13 21-14 to Dan in his first round,while Anand Pawar fought hard before bowing out to world No 5 Sony Dwi Kuncoro.

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India coach P Gopichand said he was disappointed with the Indian exits in singles,and stressed that all players will need to sit down and analyse the areas where they were typically faltering. Weve had wins against players like Smith,and even Weijie Gong is beatable. Our players are definitely talented enough to win against them. We need to think about where things are going wrong,and work on it, he said.

Silly mistakes

Bhat admitted to silly errors coming in the way of a better performance,saying: It was a close matchand in the second game I was comfortably leading 17-13. Then I made some silly errors,which were crucial, But he maintained that playing a tricky qualifier was no excuse. In my opinion,if I need to win tournaments,I need to beat anyone and everyone, he said,adding that despite his loss,he sensed a vulnerability in the Chinese at the All England.

Indias biggest disappointment,though,was Saina Nehwals fast exit in Round 1,albeit against a tough opponent Hongyan Pi. However,Nehwals coaching team was confident of her picking up strength in the coming month. South African trainer Heath Matthews said that while the world No 10 reported no pain in the niggling shoulder,her fitness was still a work in progress.

It will be a while before she reaches her full potential,but she is moving in the right direction. The match today was a tough one and I think Saina just needs a little more time back on tour. Shes come back from a five-week lack of match practice and it was too much of a hurdle against a classy player as Pi. I am excited to see how she plays over the remainder of the month,as that will be a more true reflection of consistent performance, he said.

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The mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju were the only Indians to move into Round 2 after their 16-21 21-18 21-12 win against German Johannes Schoettler and Birgit Overzier,and were due to play Korean second seeds Yong Dae Lee-Hyo Jung Lee in the next round.