Gopi bug bites the Spanish fans

Seville, May 27: Spanish eyes will be on rising Indian badminton star Pullela Gopichand when the World Championships get underway here this week. Gopichand left the badminton world abuzz in March when he defeated Denmark’s then world No. 1 Peter Gade and China’s Olympic champion Ji Xinpeng in a rollercoaster ride to the coveted All-England Championships.

The 27-year-old’s triumph in the prestigious tournament was the first there by an Indian for 21 years and marked the late blossoming of Gopichand as a force in the men’s game. But whether ‘Gopi’ can conjure up another magical run at the San Pablo Stadium remains to be seen, and he has not played a competitive match since the All Englands through fear of injury.

Despite acknowledging some ring rust, Gopichand remains optimistic of his chances in Seville, where he will also take part with India in the Sudirman Cup mixed team world championships which start tomorrow. “I have not had any bad losses for the last one year and I hope to carry this form into the championships,” said Gopichand.

Lying in wait for him are a trio of vanquished opponents out to make a point.
Foremost among them is Gade. The silky-smooth blonde star is desperate to atone for defeat at the All Englands, and is still smarting after losing his world No. 1 ranking to Malaysia’s Roslin Hashim, the top seed here.

As well as seeking revenge from Gopichand, Gade will also be looking to dump his tag as a choker. He wilted in front of his home crowd at the 1999 World Championships in Copenhagen, and collapsed in the semi-finals of the Olympics last year when he had been tipped to take the gold medal.

“Sure, I’ve had disappointments in the past couple of seasons, but they are behind me now,” Gade said. “There is no point dwelling on them. All I am focussed on is this tournament,” he added.

The man who pipped Gade to gold glory in Sydney, Jixin Peng, is seeded 11 for the men’s singles. Ji has been a patchy performer since the Olympics and became another of Gopichand’s All England conquests in March along with Chen Hong, the Indian’s victim in the final in Birmingham.

Another threat to Gopichand’s world title ambitions is likely to come from Indonesia’s youthful star, Taufik ‘Babyface’ Hidayat. The sublimely gifted third-seeded shuttler beat Gopichand in straight games in their last meeting at the Asian Championships in November last year.

In the women’s singles Gade’s girlfriend and reigning world champion Camilla Martin will start as favourite amid a phalanx of Chinese pretenders led by Zhou Mi.

The world championships start tomorrow with the mixed team Sudirman Cup event, where defending champions China will be favourites to win their fourth crown in a row.(AFP)