Rupesh also said that he faced problems with the drift due to the air-conditioning. During the Indian Open, also held at the same venue, players had complained about similar problems.

'I was not able to judge the momentum of the shuttle. It was very difficult out there,' said Rupesh.

Gade also said there was little bit of drift, but said it was typical of an Asian venue.

Dutchman Palyama, 30, said that he kept his nerves during crucial moments of the game to stun Bao.

'This is an important victory in my career. I beat Bao four years back at the Korean Open. I have also lost to him twice. He is a good player and won the Singapore Open. I kept my nerves when I was leading. Suddenly I thought that I can win this game and then I stayed calm and did not think of the outcome,' said Palyama, a regular at the World Championships since 1997.

'I am getting married next year and I am getting older, but I am happy that I am still able to fight against the Chinese and beat younger players. You have to be mentally very strong to beat the Chinese and Malaysian players. Also in Holland we don't get too many players to train with unlike in China and other Asian countries,' said Palyama, who incidentally will be tying the knot with a Chinese-born.

'She is not a badminton player and she is brought up in Holland,' said the Indonesian-born.