World No. 1 Lee reaches Commonwealth Games final
Latest News 9:52 AM
NEW DELHI (AP): No. 1-ranked Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia
advanced to the badminton singles final at the Commonwealth Games,
easily beating India's Chetan Anand Buradagunta 21-11, 21-12.
Lee took only 24 minutes to beat the home favorite on Tuesday, maintaining his eight-match unbeaten run against Buradagunta.
He will next meet England's Rajiv Ouseph, who beat India's Kashyap Parupalli 19-21, 21-12, 21-18 in the other semifinal after a controversial line call that went against the Indian player.
Having beaten Buradagunta before, "I was under no pressure. My focus was on winning the match."
He said he will go "all out for the gold. It will be an important gold for me. The hunger is still there," said Lee, who had won the 2006 Commonwealth Games in an all-Malaysian final.
With both Indian men out of the tournament, the host country's hopes now rest on women's singles player Saina Nehwal and doubles pair Jwala Gutta and Aparna Machimanda.
Nehwal defeated Scotland's Susan Egelstaff 21-10, 21-17 in a 33-minute semifinal and will play in the final against Malaysia's Wong Mew Choo, who defeated England's Liz Cann 21-12, 18-21, 21-17.
The doubles women beat Australia's Tang He Tian and Kate Wilson Smith 21-12, 13-21, 21-11.
Parupalli lost a point to a line call in the third game with scores level 18-18.
Parupalli was convinced the shuttle landed outside the sideline but the chair umpire refused to overrule the line judge.
Ouseph, who is ranked 16 in the world, had no trouble converting the one-point lead into a match victory.
The "decision cost me the match. I didn't expect the match to end in a line call, not this way," said a crestfallen Parupalli.
After the match ended with Ouseph smashing the shuttle between Parupalli's legs, the Indian turned his back to the net and took a few minutes to compose himself before turning around to shake the English player's hand amid chants of "cheating, cheating" by a packed house.
Ouseph said the shuttle could have fallen "in or out" of the line but "in the end I won."
He said the noisy crowd didn't affect his game and might have added pressure on his opponent. He acknowledged that the final match against Lee will be tough as the Malaysian is favorite to win.
"I will just go out and enjoy the game. It is not often that you get a chance to play in the Commonwealth Games.
Lee had little trouble beating Buradagunta, who appeared to be no match for the Malaysian.
With scores level at 4-4, Lee stepped up pressure to race to 15-5 before closing the game in 11 minutes. The second game lasted another 13 minutes.
Buradagunta said he had a plan to attack Lee, but he was picking up the shots and smashes easily. "I was not moving too well and his attack is very good. I was trying too many lines. I should have been more patient in the rallies."
In other semifinal matches Tuesday, Chayut Triyachart and Wong Zi Liang of Singapore defeated Anthony Clark and Nathan Robertson of England 21-17, 10-21, 21-14 while Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia defeated Saputra Hendri Kurniawan and Wijaya Hendra of Singapore 21-11, 21-8 in the men's doubles.
Lee took only 24 minutes to beat the home favorite on Tuesday, maintaining his eight-match unbeaten run against Buradagunta.
He will next meet England's Rajiv Ouseph, who beat India's Kashyap Parupalli 19-21, 21-12, 21-18 in the other semifinal after a controversial line call that went against the Indian player.
Having beaten Buradagunta before, "I was under no pressure. My focus was on winning the match."
He said he will go "all out for the gold. It will be an important gold for me. The hunger is still there," said Lee, who had won the 2006 Commonwealth Games in an all-Malaysian final.
With both Indian men out of the tournament, the host country's hopes now rest on women's singles player Saina Nehwal and doubles pair Jwala Gutta and Aparna Machimanda.
Nehwal defeated Scotland's Susan Egelstaff 21-10, 21-17 in a 33-minute semifinal and will play in the final against Malaysia's Wong Mew Choo, who defeated England's Liz Cann 21-12, 18-21, 21-17.
The doubles women beat Australia's Tang He Tian and Kate Wilson Smith 21-12, 13-21, 21-11.
Parupalli lost a point to a line call in the third game with scores level 18-18.
Parupalli was convinced the shuttle landed outside the sideline but the chair umpire refused to overrule the line judge.
Ouseph, who is ranked 16 in the world, had no trouble converting the one-point lead into a match victory.
The "decision cost me the match. I didn't expect the match to end in a line call, not this way," said a crestfallen Parupalli.
After the match ended with Ouseph smashing the shuttle between Parupalli's legs, the Indian turned his back to the net and took a few minutes to compose himself before turning around to shake the English player's hand amid chants of "cheating, cheating" by a packed house.
Ouseph said the shuttle could have fallen "in or out" of the line but "in the end I won."
He said the noisy crowd didn't affect his game and might have added pressure on his opponent. He acknowledged that the final match against Lee will be tough as the Malaysian is favorite to win.
"I will just go out and enjoy the game. It is not often that you get a chance to play in the Commonwealth Games.
Lee had little trouble beating Buradagunta, who appeared to be no match for the Malaysian.
With scores level at 4-4, Lee stepped up pressure to race to 15-5 before closing the game in 11 minutes. The second game lasted another 13 minutes.
Buradagunta said he had a plan to attack Lee, but he was picking up the shots and smashes easily. "I was not moving too well and his attack is very good. I was trying too many lines. I should have been more patient in the rallies."
In other semifinal matches Tuesday, Chayut Triyachart and Wong Zi Liang of Singapore defeated Anthony Clark and Nathan Robertson of England 21-17, 10-21, 21-14 while Koo Kien Keat and Tan Boon Heong of Malaysia defeated Saputra Hendri Kurniawan and Wijaya Hendra of Singapore 21-11, 21-8 in the men's doubles.
Posted by Lucas Liau
on 9:52 AM.
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