Gopichand ranked seventh

Indian badminton ace Pullela Gopichand shot up to seventh position in the international rankings and earned the right to play in the Nippo World Masters tournament in Kuala Lumpur.

Gopichand, who was ranked 36th at the start of the new millennium, improved his ranking mainly because of his excellent performances in the Thomas Cup preliminary tournament in Delhi, where he singlehandedly took India to the finals after 12 years. Later, he beat Shon Sheung of Korea, which took him to the 19th spot.

He also scalped China's Ji Xingpeng, who won the Sydney Olympics singles gold, in the pre-quarter-finals of the Malaysian Open in August, and Ewe Hock in the quarters of the same tournament. The two victories took him to the tenth spot in the ranking list just ahead of the Sydney Olympics.

He secured the eighth position following his performance in the Olympic Games, and the Asian championships, in Jakarta last week, where he reached the semifinals.

Gopichand has now been invited to play in the World Masters, which features the world's top 12. It is slated to be held in Kuala Lumpur, November 8 to 11.

The top seven as on November 2 are: 1. Peter Gade (Denmark), 2. Hendrawan (Indonesia), 3. Xia Xuanze (China), 4. Ji Xinpeng, 5. Taufik Hidayat (Indonesia), 6. Choon Hann Wong (Malaysia), Pullela Gopichand (India).