Dev S Sukumar/ badmintonmania.com Hyderabad, 9 September 2005: Indian junior Aditi Mutatkar of India had world No.4 Wang Chen on the ropes in the second game of their pre-quarterfinal bout at the Asian Badminton Confederation championships, before falling to the experienced Hong Kong champion on Thursday. The other top guns powered their way with ease. Ng Wei, Boonsak Ponsana, Lee Hyun Il and Sony Dwi Kuncoro booked their spots in the men's quarters, but the big surprise was local hope Chetan Anand's win over world No.17 Shoji Sato. Lee Hyun Il, one of the title favourites, scraped past Lee Tseun Seng of Malaysia in a battle of big-hitting left-handers, but Sony Dwi Kuncoro brushed aside Chen Chih Hao of Chinese Taipei, with the loss of just three points. In the women's section, Kanako Yonekura, Wong Mew Choo, Adriyanti Firdarasari and Hirose Eriko joined Wang Chen in the quarters. Brave show by Aditi: Aditi, who trains at the Padukone Academy in Bangalore, wasn't expected to give much of a fight to her formidable opponent. The young Indian has just recovered from a right knee injury; besides, she is much smaller and far less experienced than Wang. That showed in the first game, as Wang wiped her out 11-2. The sharply angled drops and jumped interceptions took Aditi by surprise, and she was frequently caught short. But the young Indian refused to give up. Wang made a couple of errors early in the second, and Aditi pounced on the opportunity, fighting off 1-4 deficit to equal at 4. Aditi was finding her rhythm; her body smashes were troubling Wang, and her net game was more than an equal to her rival's. Wang was getting caught in long rallies, and as Aditi's confidence increased, she matched the top seed shot for shot. A 6-4 lead for the Indian became 8-4, Wang netting three successive dribbles. A sharp half-smash gave Aditi a 9-4 lead, but Wang fought back to 8-9. Aditi broke serve with a smash that found the net cord, and earned game point with a return smash to Wang's serve. All those watching the match were amazed. An Indian junior, playing her first senior international tournament, was troubling the top seed. Could she pull off the game? As it turned out, however, Wang dug in deep and came up with the right answers. She cut down her errors, caught Aditi short again with her steep drops, and forced the Indian into error at the most crucial points. A 13-10 win in the second game ensured her entry into the quarterfinals. Chetan Anand stuns Sato: Wristy Chetan Anand, playing in front of his home crowd, earned the biggest win of his career by beating Shoji Sato of Japan. Chetan turned on the charm from the beginning, keeping his fast rival guessing with his deceptive drops and half-smashes, and winning point after point with those steep overheads that kept finding the line. Sato seemed to recover in the second game, with a 4-0 lead, but Chetan caught up at 6, and from there it was neck-and-neck. Sato's huge jump smashes and Chetan's crisp overheads lit up the hall, and it always going to be close. Serve changed ends a few times at 12-all, but Chetan suddenly found fortune -- Sato smashed a kill into the net, and then his own smash found the net cord and the shuttle dribbled over. Chetan earned match point after Sato misjudged a toss, and the Indian finally closed out the match to join compatriot Arvind Bhat in the quarters. Boonsak overwhelms Roslin: The most intriguing pre-match battle was Boonsak versus Roslin Hashim. Could the experienced Malaysian thwart the in-form Thai? The match turned out anti-climactic, as world no. 14 Boonsak thrashed his rival in quick time. Roslin couldn't match the pace or read the wristy flicks and drives; the closest he came was 6-7 and 8-10 in the first. Boonsak sealed the game with a crosscourt smash. The second game was a total rout. Roslin made error after error as Boonsak ran up a 7-1 lead, the most beautiful point being a sliced drop after faking a smash. The only breaks Roslin got were from Boonsak's errors, but the Thai allowed only a single point in the game. Matches of the day: Thailand's women doubles players Duanganong Aroonkesom and Kunchala Voravicitchaikul produced a fascinating battle against Matsuda Tomomi and Akao Aki, but the Japanese just about hung in to win at 12 and 12. Duanganong was exceptional, covering the court with agility and attacking and defending with gusto. The Thai pair had the Japanese in trouble with their consistent hitting ability, and it was perhaps the advice of doubles legend Park Joo Bong that made the difference. Park is here as coach of the Japan team, and was closely observing all the matches featuring his players. The other tight match of the day was Kuan Beng Hong's against Hsieh Yu Sheng of Taipei. Hong barely made it in a 9-15, 15-8, 15-7 brawl that was cheered lustily by the audience. The most unusual match of the day was Yonekura's against Fransica Ratnasari. After a tight first game, which Ratnasari won 11-7, Yonekura whipped her 11-0 in the second. The third again was tightly fought, with the Japanese prevailing 11-7. Watching Yonekura by the sidelines was Wang Chen, who had come through a stiff test earlier. Wang and her coach were plotting her strategy against Yonekura. Quarterfinals: MS: Ng Wei vs. Ayub Sairul Amar; Boonsak Ponsana vs. Sony Dwi Kuncoro; Arvind Bhat vs. Lee Hyun Il; Chetan Anand vs. Kuan Beng Hong. WS: Wang Chen vs. Yu Hirayama; Yonekura vs. Cheng Shao Chieh; Adriyanti Firdasari vs. Mori Kaori; Wong Mew Chew vs Hirose Eriko. The results: Men's singles: Pre-quarterfinals: Sony Dwi Kuncoro (INA) bt Chen Chih Hao (TPE) 15-2, 15-1; Ng Wei (HKG) bt Yeoh Kay Bin (MAS) 15-12, 15-7; Sairul Amar (MAS) bt Ikeda Yichi (JPN) 15-2, 15-12; Boonsak Punsana (THA) bt Roslin Hashim (MAS) 15-9, 15-1, Arvind Bhat (IND) bt Naser Zadeh Ford (IRI) 15-3, 15-11, Chetan Anand bt Sato Shoji (JPN) 15-11, 15-5, Lee Hyun II bt Lee Tsuen Seng (MAS) 15-12, 15-8. Women's singles: Wang Chen (KKG) bt Aditi Mutatkar (Ind) 11-2, 13-10, Yu Hirayama (JPN) bt Hwang Hye Youn (KOR) 11-2, 11-7, Yonekura Kanako (JPN) bt Fransisca Ratnasari (INA) bt 7-11, 11-0, 11-7, Adriyanti Firdasari (INA) bt Renu De Silva (Sri) 11-3, 11-3, Wong Mew Choo (MAS) bt Hatoya Yoshimi (JPN) 11-4, 11-2.
