Man of the Tournament
Written By
Dev S Sukumar
| Updated:
Swine flu and terror threats failed to faze the Chinese, particularly their star shuttler Lin Dan, even as Indians fail to encash the home advantage.
Swine flu and terror threats failed to faze the Chinese, particularly their star shuttler Lin Dan, even as Indians fail to encash the home advantage. DNA analyses just-concluded world badminton
Nation of domination
Lin Dan, who had nothing left to prove, still found the motivation to add to his four All England and two world titles, coming up with an impeccable display against compatriot Chen Jin. The final wasn’t memorable, for there was too much doubt on whether it was a genuine contest, although there were displays of astonishing court coverage, defence, and courtcraft from both. Lin led the gold haul for China, with compatriots Lu Lan (women’s singles), Zhang Yawen/ Zhao Tingting (women’s doubles) and Cai Yun/ Fu Haifeng (men’s doubles)
Terror threat
The first-ever world championships in India couldn’t have got to a worse start as there were reports of Lashkar-e-Taiba plotting a terror attack on the championships. As a result of which, the England team announced their withdrawal. The BWF went into damage-control mode and announced that the reports were exaggerated, while the Home Minister too weighed in, assuring security to all teams. England’s team in badminton circles is now being seen as a lilly-livered bunch, who were actually running scared of their on-court rivals, rather than the LeT
Flu-struck
Barely had news of England’s withdrawal sunk in, than a Malaysian coach was quarantined for developing symptoms of swine flu. Although the organisers tried to reassure that it was just a precautionary measure, rumours began to float around about coaches and players who were infected. The strangest case was that of Malaysian national coach Misbun Sidek, who was reported to be feverish and in hospital. “Well, if they say so, it must be true,” smiled a hale and hearty Misbun
India disappoint
No international event in recent memory had generated so much interest in India as the worlds. Saina Nehwal and V Diju-Jwala Gutta were considered as India’s best hope but it wasn’t to be. Saina struggled in her third round against Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva, before running into No.2 Wang Lin, who beat her in straight games. Jwala-Diju had a decent tournament but couldn’t get the better of the defending champions in the quarterfinals. To her credit, Saina, who had just recovered from a bout of chicken pox, refused to blame that for her below-par performance
Royal finale
The men’s doubles was an extraordinary match. There was nothing to choose between the two teams — Lee Yong Dae/ Jung Jae Sung (Kor) and Cai Yun/ Fu Haifeng (Chn). The third game was on razor edge all the way through. Twice the Koreans assumed they had it won by earning match point, and each time the Chinese levelled. A 28-26 scoreline for China in the third game of the final match of the tournament — nothing else could’ve helped erase the sour taste of the early part of the championships
Nation of domination
Lin Dan, who had nothing left to prove, still found the motivation to add to his four All England and two world titles, coming up with an impeccable display against compatriot Chen Jin. The final wasn’t memorable, for there was too much doubt on whether it was a genuine contest, although there were displays of astonishing court coverage, defence, and courtcraft from both. Lin led the gold haul for China, with compatriots Lu Lan (women’s singles), Zhang Yawen/ Zhao Tingting (women’s doubles) and Cai Yun/ Fu Haifeng (men’s doubles)
Terror threat
The first-ever world championships in India couldn’t have got to a worse start as there were reports of Lashkar-e-Taiba plotting a terror attack on the championships. As a result of which, the England team announced their withdrawal. The BWF went into damage-control mode and announced that the reports were exaggerated, while the Home Minister too weighed in, assuring security to all teams. England’s team in badminton circles is now being seen as a lilly-livered bunch, who were actually running scared of their on-court rivals, rather than the LeT
Flu-struck
Barely had news of England’s withdrawal sunk in, than a Malaysian coach was quarantined for developing symptoms of swine flu. Although the organisers tried to reassure that it was just a precautionary measure, rumours began to float around about coaches and players who were infected. The strangest case was that of Malaysian national coach Misbun Sidek, who was reported to be feverish and in hospital. “Well, if they say so, it must be true,” smiled a hale and hearty Misbun
India disappoint
No international event in recent memory had generated so much interest in India as the worlds. Saina Nehwal and V Diju-Jwala Gutta were considered as India’s best hope but it wasn’t to be. Saina struggled in her third round against Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva, before running into No.2 Wang Lin, who beat her in straight games. Jwala-Diju had a decent tournament but couldn’t get the better of the defending champions in the quarterfinals. To her credit, Saina, who had just recovered from a bout of chicken pox, refused to blame that for her below-par performance
Royal finale
The men’s doubles was an extraordinary match. There was nothing to choose between the two teams — Lee Yong Dae/ Jung Jae Sung (Kor) and Cai Yun/ Fu Haifeng (Chn). The third game was on razor edge all the way through. Twice the Koreans assumed they had it won by earning match point, and each time the Chinese levelled. A 28-26 scoreline for China in the third game of the final match of the tournament — nothing else could’ve helped erase the sour taste of the early part of the championships