Chetan pips third ranked Chen, to enter group of four

Hyderabad, Apr 4 (UNI) Indian ace shuttler Chetan Anand defeated sixth ranked Chinese opponent Yu Chen in two straight sets to enter the semifinals of the Indian Open Badminton Grand Prix championships here today.

Chetan will meet English opponent Andrew Smith, while Sho Sasaki of Japan will face Bombok Ponsana in the other semifinals to be played tomorrow.

Local hero Chetan Anand had upset third seed Yu Chen in straight sets 21-16, 22-20 in front of partisan crowds in just 33 minutes.

In the first set, initially Yu Chen raced to 10-5 lead, but determined Chetan came back strongly to overcome his famous opponent 21-16.

Both the players fought hard for each point in the second game, when the score was levelled at 10-10. At this juncture Chen recovered and gained 15-11 lead. Once again showing tremendous potential Chetan equalled at 18.

Chetan won most of the long rallies to capture the second set.

In another match, Anand Powar of India lost men's singles quarter final to 32nd ranked Andrew Smith of England. Though Powar surrendered meekly in the first set, he changed his gear to lead for a breif in second set 14-8. But he committed mistakes, that made him lose the set and match.

Later speaking to the media, Chetan said, ''I played more net game and succeed. Chen committed so many mistakes. He became impatient at the end of the second game. This is the big event for me to perform my level best. Last year I faced so many problems but now I am technically and mentally very strong.'' Men singles Quarter Final results: Chetan Anand (India) bt Yu Chen (China) 21-16, 22-20, Anand Pawar (India) lost to Andrew Smith (England) 18-21, 19-21, Boonsak Ponsana (Thailand) bt Sheng shium Liao (TPE) 20-22, 21-14, 21-14, Sho Sasaki (Japan) bt Yi Lu (China) 21-17, 13-21, 21-14.

UNI XR/AP LS KP2156