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Chetan Anand of India bagged the Spanish open Badminton title on Sunday, May 25, 2008 after defeating Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen 21-17, 19-21, 21-14 in the men’s single final in Madrid. Fifth seeded in the tournament, Chetan earlier shocked top seed Andre Kurniawan of Indonesia 21-17, 9-21, 22-20 in the semi-finals. This was hailed as the biggest victory for Anand in the tournament.
The victory in the Spanish Open will certainly boost the ranking of the world number 49. Little known, another Indian did India proud by her remarkable performance in the tournament. Neha Pandit rode on some impressive wins to reach the finals of the women’s single event in the tournament. In the final, Neha lost to sixth seed Maria Elfira Christina of Indonesia 16-21, 4-21. Neha’s best win was against third seed Anu Niemenen of Finland. The Indian women player by reaching the final of Spanish Open showed her mettle and has finally come out of the shadow of her more illustrious compatriots Saina Nehwal and Aditi Mutatkar.
