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Gopi Chand guides India into Thomas Cup final round

Riding on the brilliance of 27-year-old Pulella Gopi Chand, India ousted Thailand 3-1 to qualify for the final round of the Thomas Cup Badminton Championship after 12 years at the Indira Gandhi indoor stadium in New Delhi yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Korean women won the Uber Cup qualifier, defeating Japan 3-2. Both teams have, however, already qualified for the final rounds.

India finished third in the 15-nation Asian Zone Thomas Cup qualifying round last afternoon, enough to book them a place in the final round in Kuala Lumpur in May.

The top three teams in each of the Thomas and Uber Cup qualifiers make it to the final rounds.

This is the second time in 12 years that the Indian men have reached the last round of this prestigious championship.

In 1988 it was Prakash Padukone and Uday Pawar who led India to victory over Thailand (3-2). Yesterday Andhra star Gopi Chand charted the route for the country's win over Thailand.

Gopi Chand, 20-year-old Allahabad shuttler Abhinn Shyam Gupta and Vincent Lobo thus repeated history, but with a better victory margin, 3-1.

"It was a great team effort," said Padukone, now vice-president of the Badminton Association of India, but paid special tribute to Gopi Chand: "He played a crucial role in the team's win."

Coach S M Arif said it was the happiest moment for Indian badminton. "The players did their job well and Gopi Chand was the driving force behind this win."

Desperately needing a win, the Indian team managment took a few calculated risks. They brought in Gupta as the second singles player, included Gopi Chand in the second doubles along with Lobo, and opted for Sidharth Jain in place of Nikhil Kanetkar for the third singles.

The risks paid off with Gopi Chand winning his singles and doubles matches and Gupta claiming his singles, though the country's top doubles pair of Jassel P Ismail and Markose Bristow lost rather tamely.

Jain was not tested as the tie ended with Gopi Chand and Lobo winning the second doubles to give India an unbeatable 3-1 lead.

But it was not too happy a start for the hosts as Gopi Chand lost his first game against world number 48 Boonsak Polsana 6-15. The Indian national champion was tentative to begin with and trailed 1-5 and then 5-8 before Thailand's top player went up to 14-5.

At this stage, Gopi Chand saved a game point breaking his rival's service and adding a point to his kitty. He again saved a game point, but could not increase his tally and Polsana smashed for game point.

The Indian, who is ranked number 32 in the world, steadied himself in the next game, but Polsana put up good resistance to be at par with him 4-4.

The Thai champion, who had beaten world number 10 Hong Chen of China in the league, could not, however, sustain the tempo as Gopi Chand opened his game and with deft tosses, drops and crosscourt smashes raced to a 13-6 lead and finished it off at 15-7 to draw level.

In the crucial third game, service kept changing with the players level at 6-6. At this stage Gopi Chand raised the level of his game and took the next nine points, conceding just one to his rival, to finish the match 6-15, 15-7, 15-7 in 75 minutes and give India a 1-0 lead.

The Thais fielded their world number 11 pair of Pramote Teerawiwata and Tesana Panivisvas for the first doubles and they justified their ranking as they outplayed Jassel P Ismail and Markose 15-5, 15-7 in just 25 minutes.

The Indians just failed to click, committed far too many unforced errors, and never looked like posing a challenge to their rivals.

Thereafter, it was tense moments for the Indians as the young Abhinn Shyam Gupta took the court against Anupap Thiraratsakakul with the tie score level at 1-1.

But Gupta justified his reputation as a defensive player and vindicated the faith of the selectors who had expected him to wear down his opponent. He frustrated 21-year-old Anupap with his defensive tactics. His high service and long rallies also upset his rival's rhythm, wearing him down in 90 minutes.

The Thai began aggressively, taking a 6-0 lead in the first game, before Gupta fought back and took five points on the trot and then four more after breaking Anupap's service to make it 9-6.

Anupap tried to smash his way through, but mostly found his hits either in the net or wide. Gupta too tried to smash a few times, but always found the net, gave up the idea of going on the offensive, and reverted to his defensive game.

He took the first game 15-7. It was a close second game with the lead changing hands frequently till it was 9-9. Gupta then took two points for a crucial 11-9 lead, but fumbled and Anupap took three points to make it 12-11. He then unleashed two powerful smashes to make it 14-11. He lost his service at this score and Gupta managed one more point, but that was not enough to stop the Thai to take the game 15-12 and draw level.

In the decider, Gupta raced to a 9-0 lead before Anupap earned three points. The Indian took one more point with a fine toss, but Anupap refused to give in and fought back to 11-14. But Gupta kept his nerve and won 15-11 to make it 2-1 for India.

In the crucial second doubles, Gopi Chand guided Vincent Lobo well as the Indian pair put it across Kitipon Kitikul and Khunakorn Sudhisodhi 15-11, 2-15, 15-12 to win the match and the tie.

"I am happy the way the whole tournament went," Gopi Chand said after the match. "The players gave of their best and it was a team effort which paid off."

UNI