Gopichand crashes out

All England champion Pulella Gopichand crashed out of the World Grand Prix badminton finals after being beaten 5-7, 4-7, 3-7 in the quarter-finals by Indonesian Marleve Mainaky at Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei, on Friday.

The victory saw the Indonesian Open champion maintain an all-win record in Group C and proceed to Saturday's semi-finals, where he will take on Chen Hong, the Chinese No. 1.

Hong scripted a similar, comprehensive 7-5, 7-2, 7-3 victory over Malaysia's Ong Ewe Hock.

The other semi-final will be between China's Xia Xuanze, ranked ninth in the world, and former world No. 1 Roslin Hashim of Malaysia.

While Xuanze blasted top seed Peter Gade 7-3, 7-1, 7-0, Hashim upset World champion Hendrawan of Indonesia 7-1, 5-7, 8-6, 7-0.

The tall Indonesian Open champion Mainaky was totally dominant against a rival, ranked just one rung below him in the International Badminton Federation rankings.

It was a heartbreaking loss for Gopichand, who was beaten by the same opponent just two weeks ago in Jakarta.

The Indian had come with a different game plan this time and moved well and looked positive. The world number seven also showed glimpses of the touch that fetched him the All England crown just five months ago as he made his opponent run around the court to take a 5-3 lead in the opening game.

A couple of powerful smashes and a delectable reverse drops sent the crowd into ecstacy and it looked as if the Indian would reverse the roles this time.

Unfortunately, Mainaky had other plans. A runner-up at the last edition of this event, the Indonesian seemed to enjoy playing in breezy conditions and he soon got into his stride and handled Gopichand's smashes with ease while at the same time drew him into a fast, parallel game.

While Gopichand's smashes were unable to have the desired effect, Mainaky bludgeoned his way past the Indian at will and suddenly the All England champion was searching for answers. The first game was soon over and in the second, again, it was the powerful Indonesian who raced into a 3-0 lead.

At this stage Mainaky had claimed eight points in a row. Gopichand, however, did not give up the fight. Picking himself up, he essayed a couple of superb half-smashes to claw his way back to 3-all. But the Indonesian pulled it away.

In fact, every time Mainaky was pushed to a corner, he forced Gopichand into parallel rallies and came out a winner.

Forcing the Indian to lift, Mainaky, the younger brother of doubles ace Rexy Mainaky, found himself with the opportunity to bring his sledgehammer smash into play. And each time, he hit from mid-court, he won a point.

Leading by two games to nil, Mainaky was in his element in the third, showing off his new-found speed and retrieving ability to frustrate Gopichand, who grew more and more desperate. And despite a few great rallies, especially a stunning retrieve at matchpoint, the writing was on the wall and Mainaky duly proceeded to wrap up the match in straight games.

Earkier reports
Gopichand scores second win
Gopichand wins Grand Prix opener

Men's singles results - Day 3:

Groups	Match	Score	Time
Group A	Choong Hann Wong (MAS) beat Santoso Budi (INA)	7-2, 7-1, 7-2	26 min
Group A	Xuanze Xia (CHN) beat 1-Peter Gade (DEN)	7-3, 7-1, 7-0	24 min
Group B	3-Roslin M Hashim (MAS) beat Hendrawan (INA)	7-1, 5-7, 8-6, 7-0	47 min
Group B	Anders Boesen (DEN) beat Yigang Luo (CHN)	8-6, 7-5, 1-7, 8-6	54 min
Group C	Marleve Mainaky (INA) beat 4-Pulella Gopichand (IND)	7-5, 7-4, 7-3	33 min
Group C	Ji Xinpeng (CHN) beat Richard Vaughan (WAL)	7-5, 7-1, 7-4	37 min
Group D	2-Chen Hong (CHN) beat Ong Ewe Hock (MAS)	7-5, 7-2, 7-3	29 min
Group D	Vladislav Druzchenko (UKR) beat Kenneth Jonassen (DEN)	8-6, 7-3, 7-2	21 min