Gopi Chand claws back from the brink

JAKARTA, JULY 27. From the brink of defeat, P. Gopi Chand came roaring back to end unseeded Sony Dwi Kuncoro's dream-run and moved into the semifinals of the Indonesian Open badminton championship here on Friday.

The second seeded Gopi scripted a spirited 3-7, 0-7, 7-4, 7-3, 7- 3 win over the Malaysian, who had not dropped a game in the previous three matches. Gopi now meets fourth-seeded Marvleve Mainaky of Indonesia. India's challenge in the mixed doubles came to an end when V. Diju and Manjusha Kanwar went down to second- seeded Indonesians Nova Widianto and Marisa Vita 0-7, 3-7, 0-7 in the second round.

The results: Quarterfinals: Lee Hyun Il (Kor) bt Jamesh Chua (Mal) 7-3, 1-7, 7-4, 7-3; Lee Tsuen Seng (Mal) bt Colin Haughton (Eng) 7-3, 7-8, 2-7, 7-2, 7-2; Marleve Mainaky (Ina) bt Agus Hariyanto (HKG) 7-4, 7-3, 7-5; P. Gopi Chand (Ind) bt Sony Dwi Kuncoro (Mal) 3-7, 0-7, 7-4, 7-3, 7-3.

Pre-quarterfinals: Lee Hyun Il bt Johan Hadikusuma (Ina) 7-3, 7- 0, 5-7, 7-5; James Chua bt Fung Permadi (Tpe) 7-3, 7-3, 7-1; Colin Haughton bt Niel Kristian Kaldau (Den) 7-5, 7-3, 1-7, 3-7, 7-2; Lee Tsuen Seng bt Kai Chuen Tam (HKG) 7- 4, 7-0, 4-7, 7-5; Hariyanto bt Taufik Hidayat (Ina) 7-1, 7-4, 7- 2; Mainaky bt Park Tae Sang (Kor) 3-7, 7-0, 7-0, 3-7, 7-5; Kuncoro bt Saman Ismail (Mal) 7-2, 7-2, 7-5; Gopi bt Ayub Sairul Amar (Mal) 7-2, 7-1, 5- 7, 3-7, 7-0.

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Section  : Sport
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