SPORTS

Shuttlers score easy wins

March 21, 2006 11:54 IST

After their creditable bronze medal-winning performance in the mixed team event, India's shuttlers started their campaign with facile victories in badminton's Open event at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne on Tuesday.

National champion Anup Sridhar reduced his match against Burty Molia of Fiji to a no-contest as he finished the first round game in 17 minutes.

The tall and lanky Sridhar did not exert himself while thrashing Molia 21-7, 21-1.

Meanwhile, National women champion Saina Nehwal demolished Karen Kune Foo of Mauritius in straight games in a match that lasted barely 13 minutes.

Saina, who had scalped world-ranked players from Singapore, England and New Zealand in the team event, proved too good for Karen and emerged a 21-6, 21-3 winner.

However, Olympian Aparna Popat had to wage a grim battle to put it across Scotland's Y Wemyss.

The former National champion survived a scare in the first game before winning it.

Wemyss again fought well in the second and Aparna had to use all her experience to ward off the challenge. The Scot refused to give up as she took the lead on a couple of occasions, but then conceded several negative points for the 28-year old Indian to capitalize and emerge a 21-18, 21-17 winner.

The fourth Indian to make it to the next round was Trupti Murgunde, who took only 14 minutes to dispose off the Bahamas's Slesha Shakeria Waithe 21-4, 21-9.

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