Local flavour goes out of favour

The two players donned different shades of yellow but soon the colour of their jerseys was the only common factor. Chong Wei shifted gears. His net play was superior and his smashes too powerful. Verma couldn’t match the best player in the world in speed and skills.

The first few exchanges across the net between these two players — one a two-time reigning All-England champion,the other a youngster trying to find his feet at the elite level — were an aberration to how the rest of the match played out. Coach Pullela Gopichand conveyed instructions to his ward from the coaches’ corner. Chong Wei didn’t have to consult anyone; he was simply running away with this contest.

From 6-6,Chong Wei won five points in a row to lead 11-5. Verma pulled back one but the Malaysian won the next 10 points to take the first game 21-7. The second game was a similar story and though Verma won eight points,Chong Wei was leading 16-5 at one point. Verma not only failed to reach smashes but also soon started misjudging his opponent’s shots. Shuttles which the Indian believed would land long fell in even as his game imploded against the might of the Malaysian.

In spite of the 21-7,21-8 loss,expected given the quality of the opponent and his thin-on-experience career,Verma has gained tons of confidence. Wins over No.7 seed Japan’s Kenichi Tago,and Indonesia’s Sony Dwi Kuncoro,a runner-up at the 2007 World Championship,will provide a shot in the arm to the player who came through the qualifiers.

No excuses

A couple of hours before Verma said he found it difficult to judge the drift (because of air-conditioning ducts) in defence of his misjudgment of shuttles,Gurusai Datt said he found the shuttles slow during his 10-21 16-21 loss to No.8 seed Yun Hu of Chinese Taipei. But he was quick to add that he wasn’t trying to offer excuses.

“I have been playing top players over the past two years and had some close games so I need to get more consistent. Beating (Boonsak) Ponsana was a great result for me. I wish I could have continued his run,” Datt said. He beat World No.5,Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana in three games in the first round.

Datt,along with the rest of the top Indians,will now head for the Malaysia Gold Grand Prix that begins on Tuesday. Verma will proceed to Hyderabad to train at the Gopichand Academy. Irrespective of how their careers shape-up from here,these two youngsters will look back on the India Open Super Series as a watershed tournament.

Hidayat blames food for loss

World No.3 Taufik Hidayat chose to blame the quality of food after he lost to South Korean Park Sung Hwan in the quarter-finals. Second-seed Hidayat lost 21-17 21-17 to world number No.12 Park despite a 10-0 win record. “I have been facing problems with the food here and I haven’t been eating properly. I was low on energy and that’s why my shots lacked power. I hope to do better in the upcoming Malaysian Grand Prix,” Hidayat said.