Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010 Update: Shuttlers sail into last four

Vociferous crowd support proved to be the ideal catalyst for Periappali Kashyap as he rallied to upset former All England champion Mohammad Hafiz Hashim 19- 21, 21- 19, 21- 16 and enter the semi- finals in the open events at the Siri Fort Complex on Monday.

There were more glad tidings as Chetan Anand also booked his place in the semifinals.

Sania Nehwal entered the last four with a facile 21- 7, 21- 10 over Canadian Anna Rice. The top seed was in devastating form as she disposed of her opponent in 19 minutes.

“ I am happy with the way I am playing now,” Saina said. The Hyderabadi will now take on third seed Susan Egelstaff of Scotland in the semi- finals. Susan is a bronze medal winner of the 2006 Melbourne Games.

However, the major disappointment of India was the 13- 21, 19- 21 loss of Jwala Gutta and Veliaveetil Diju at the hands of Malaysia’s Koo Kien Keat and Chin Ee Hui.

Later, Jwala made up for her loss in mixed doubles when she entered the semi- finals of the women’s doubles with partner Ashwini Ponnappa, defeating Oliver Heather and Mariana Agathangelou 21- 9, 21- 14.

Saina won her pre- quarterfinal in record time in the morning, making short work of Caroline Black 21- 0, 21- 2 in 12 minutes.

Kashyap was brimming with confidence the moment he stepped on the court. He did not play his all- out attacking style. Instead, he was content to wait for the openings before smashing.

In the first game, Kashyap led for the most part before the greater experience of Hashim saw the Malaysian prevail 21- 19.

But Kashyap lifted his game considerably in the second game. Realising that Hafiz was moving a trifle slow, he sent the Malaysian scampering from side to side before scoring with some scorching smashes. To add to his woes, Hafiz’s reliable net game deserted him as he made a host of unforced errors.

Kashyap led throughout and went on to win the game 21- 19.

In the decider, Kashyap looked the superior player. His smashes punched holes in Hafiz’s defence. With chants of ‘ Come on India, Come on Kashyap’, the Indian went on to win the match 21- 16. “ This has got to be one of my best wins,” Kashyap said.

In the semi- final, sixth seeded Kashyap will meet Rajiv Ouseph of England. When told that he would have the edge as he had defeated him in the team championships, Kashyap said that each match was different.

“ I was able to surprise him with my parallel game. But I am sure he will be better prepared for me this time,” he said.

Chetan Anand also booked his place for the semi- finals, defeating England’s Carl Baxter 21- 17, 21- 9.

The Hyderabadi was too good for the Englishman, outplaying him at the net and also scoring with his trademark wristy flicks at the net.