Japan''s Hirosa still in shock after beating world no 1 Yihan

Thu, Aug 26 10 09:53 PM

Paris, Aug 26 (PTI) Still in a state of shock after upstaging world''s numero uno women''s shuttler Wang Yihan, Japan''s giantkiller Eriko Hirosa said the victory against the top-seeded Chinese in the on going World Badminton Championships here was the biggest achievement of her career. The 25-year-old Hirosa, seeded 10th, proved that her win over Yihan during the Uber Cup finals in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year was not a fluke as she recovered from a first set defeat to win 20-22 21-16 21-18 in 75 minutes. "It is truly a memorable moment for me as this is my greatest ever achievement. You do not often beat the world number one and doing it at this level is really something I did not expect," said Hirosa at the post match press conference. "When I stepped onto the court to face her, all I wanted to do was give her a good fight. But as the match progressed I knew that she was vulnerable and I took my chances. "Even after losing the first set I knew I was with a chance and just returned every shots, letting her make the mistakes," she said. Yihan could not stop her tears and was in a state of shock. "I really do not know what to say. Somehow Eriko (Hirosa) managed to read my game to precision and countered whatever I could conjure," said Yihan. "Eriko was in her best form and my game was not really up to expectations. I am sad to have lost but credit to my opponent," she said. Meanwhile, in the men''s singles it was plain sailing for the favourites as Peter Hoeg Gade had little difficulty in overcoming the challenge of Marc Zwiebler, winning 21-14 21-15. Despite just 16 hours between his second round three-game thriller against South Korea''s Shon last night, Gade was in his element and will now take on Japan''s Kazushi Yamada in the last eight stage. "I had to play intelligently and not let Marc seize the initiative as I had yet to recover from the match last night," said Gade. "I have not played Yamada but from what I have observed he is full of energy and can surprise if I let my guard down." Gade also dispelled the notion that the bottom half of the draw was favourable to him given that most seeded players had lost. "That''s an opinion of others and I do not think that is correct as players who are in these championships have a certain level. And if they progress, then it is because they are the better players on that day,'' he said. Also moving into the quarterfinals was the invincible Lin Dan of China, who brushed aside the challenge of his countryman Bao Chunlai 21-16 21-13 in 42 minutes. Joining Lin Dan and Gade was fourth seed Chen Jin, who defeated Singapore''s Ashton Chen 21-17 21-10.

Source: Published>