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Popat loses in third round

Aparna Popat, India's lone challenge left in the All-England badminton championships, crashed out in the third round of the women's singles on Saturday. The Indian national champion was comprehensively beaten by China's Gong Zhichao 11-7, 11-1.

Popat, ranked 26 in the world, did manage to stretch the Chinese in the first game. However, she was all at sea in the second during which Zhichao showed no mercy, displaying allround courtcraft and smashing prowess.

On Thursday, Popat had staged a grand recovery to enter the third round. The 23-year-old former World junior runner-up lost the first game narrowly but changed tactics thereafter to subdue Karolina Ericsson of Sweden and win 9-11, 13-10, 11-8.

Aparna was the only Indian left in the fray following the elimination of Nikhil Kanetkar and Siddharth Jain in the men's singles. She had beaten Australia's Rayoni Head in the first round.

In the men's second round, Nikhil Kanetkar, ranked 60 in the world, was beaten 8-15, 5-15 by Ismail Saman of Malaysia, while Jain went down fighting to Budi Santoso of Indonesia 15-13, 11-15, 7-15.

Jain, a lowly 105th in the International Badminton Federation rankings had beaten Ruud Kuijten of Belgium 9-15, 15-11, 15-9 while prevailed over Kasper Fangel of Denmark 15-13, 15-2 in their respective first round matches.

B R. Meenakshi and seasoned Manjusha Kanwar, in the women's singles, were the other Indians who failed to clear the first round.

Agencies