Wristy symphony from Chetan

Hyderabad: Invoking the artistry of wristy magicians who have made his home state famous -- including the now-famous VVS Laxman -- Chetan Anand won his first badminton national title, subduing the unlucky Arvind Bhat in the final of the men's singles at Kotla Vijaybhaskar Reddy Stadium. Aparna Popat duly defended her women's singles title, beating the graceful Trupti Murgunde.

Spare a thought for Bhat. The previous day, he had just about dodged Sachin Ratti's tough challenge in the morning, only to run into that human returning machine, Abhinn Shyam Gupta, in the semis. Abhinn on any day is a formidable proposition; Abhinn just after Ratti is a nightmare.

And so, even as Bhat willed himself through the last game, one could only marvel at his stamina. He had played smart in the first, not hurrying himself against Abhinn's relentless tosses. Instead, he waited for his opportunity to smash, and even though the studious defending champion returned many of them, Arvind kept at it, finding the lines.

Midway through the second, however, there was simply no way he could keep at Abhinn's game, and he saved his energy for the last. Many in the audience were surprised when he threw away the last few points, but Arvind was just saving himself.

The second game was lost at 15-3, and even many of the genial Bangalorean's ardent fans might have wondered if he was up to it, especially when Abhinn went up 6-3. Arvind, however, has been dreaming of the nationals for a long while now, and wasn't about to give up the dream so easily. The big smashes kept coming, and he equalled at 7 and went ahead with another big jump smash.

Something was going out of the champion even as the challenger overtook him -- the tosses had lost their depth; the unforced errors gradually creeped in. Arvind seemed strangely sympathetic sometime after the match... "He was playing very well in the second. I don't know what happened in the third... I thought he got nervous."

Arvind inched to 14, but the desperate defending champion gave it everything. Serve changed ends nine times, and it was with another trademark smash that Arvind closed the issue. To his credit, he had kept Abhinn at 7.

Vidyadhar's strong challenge

The other semifinal pitted a player of relentless attacking quality -- JBS Vidyadhar -- against the wristy, beguiling Chetan Anand. Vidyadhar, who plays singles in much the same fashion as the doubles -- with stinging smashes from any position -- had the top seed in all sorts of trouble before Chetan squeaked through in three tough games.

Vidyadhar himself had survived a huge comeback from Utsav Mishra in the quarters -- Mishra came back from 3-14 down to 14-all in the final game before falling.

A regal final performance

And so, Chetan versus Arvind, an exciting prospect. Who would've thought Chetan would be so dominant in the final?

Nevertheless, that's what happened. Never giving the Bangalorean a chance to unleash his big smashes, the crafty Anand kept the points short while unveiling an array of strokes that left Arvind flatfooted through the match.

The important thing for Chetan was not to let Arvind get under the shuttle, and so he used his wristy flicks and half-smashes to keep the shuttle flat, kept Arvind guessing, and from time to time, played some astounding winners from the back court.

Still, Arvind kept within striking distance in the first game, narrowing a 5-11 deficit to 9-11 and then 12-13. Chetan had used the body smash to great effect right through, and that helped him at the death, as he drove one into Arvind to seal the first game 15-12.

Arvind's challenge fell from then on. Chetan seemed to have more than one option for every stroke, and he was barely working up a sweat. He had come on court with a plan and executed it perfectly.

Nevertheless, it had been an outstanding effort from Arvind, for he had come through a minefield. Chetan had had a relatively comfortable time on his way to the final, barring Vidyadhar's challenge in the semis.

Aparna too strong

Consider this: Jwala Gutta, one of the few players on the domestic circuit to beat defending women's champion Aparna Popat a couple of years ago, fell to upcoming youngster Aditi Mutatkar in straight games in the pre-quarters (Aditi's biggest win in her short career so far). Aditi ran into Trupti Murgunde in the quarters, and it was a terrible whitewash, with a 11-0, 11-2 result for Trupti.

After Trupti had forded Manjusha Kanwar in the semis, she ran into Aparna, and the top seed did to her what Trupti had done to Aditi. 11-0 in the first, and looking good enough to repeat it in the second. Trupti somehow managed seven points before the uneven challenge came to an end.

Or consider Aparna's semifinal against Saina Nehwal, where the promising young player stood no chance.

To put it simply: the gulf between the top seed (Aparna) and the most promising players (Trupti/ Aditi/ Saina) is huge. Something that might not seem encouraging for our team championship campaigns in the near future.

Rupesh-Markose defend title

Jaseel Ismail and JBS Vidyadhar looked good enough title contenders when they reached the men's doubles final -- what with Vidyadhar's fabulous smashing and Jaseel's clever interceptions and experience. But Rupesh Kumar and Markose Bristow cut open their challenge clinically -- a small cut here and there, almost unnoticeable, until it was too late, and the sufferer was left to contemplate his plight.

Apart from a strong attacking game, Rupesh and Markose are possibly the best returners of smash as well. Anything Vidyadhar and Jaseel threw at them they returned, and the top seeds had plenty of variety for their challengers.

Rupesh and Markose would suddenly dart to the net by turns; and their flat returns steadily pressurised their opponents until the result became a formality.

The semifinals were intriguing too, as Rupesh and Markose rode a strong second game challenge from Jose George and Ajit Wijetilak; while Vidyadhar and Jaseel comprehensively outplayed Sanave Thomas and V Diju.

Double for Jwala

Notwithstanding her loss to Aditi Mutatkar in the women's singles, Jwala Gutta expectedly won the women's doubles and mixed doubles titles, partnering Shruti Kurien and P Gopichand respectively.

In the women's doubles, the top seeds were given an unexpected fight by Fatima Nazreen and Trupti Murgunde, and the game went three sets. The mixed doubles was a rather tame affair, with Manjusha and Jaseel unable to dent Jwala and Gopi.