Badminton star defeats compatriot Sindhu to lift a trophy after 15 months
India ace shuttler Saina Nehwal on Sunday snapped her 15 months title drought, clinching the Syed Modi International India Grand Prix Gold badminton crown with a straight-game victory over compatriot P V Sindhu in the women’s singles competition, here on Sunday. The london Olympics bronze medallist staved off the challenge from Sindhu 21-14, 21-17 in the women’s singles summit clash, which lasted 40 minutes at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium here.
The two-time champion was tested by her younger colleague but Saina kept her nerve to eventually break a 15-month title drought after appearing in her 22nd final of her international career. “It’s an emotional moment for me. loved the support I got. lucknow has been my favourite city, I won my first title here in 2009. It feels good to win again. The win was more special as it came after such a long time,” she said moments after her victory.
“Sindhu played very well. It was a great match and the crowd enjoyed it. She is great player, and also in top-10. I am happy that I pulled it off. “I was little nervous as I was playing in a final after a long time. But things went well for me,” said Saina, who had last reached a final in the French Super Series in October, 2012.
luck was on Saina’s side as a couple of controversial line calls helped the 23-year-old to lead 3-0 initially and then she extended it to 5-0. Sindhu earned her first point when Saina hit wide but the Commonwealth Games champion kept the pressure on her with some smashes to lead 8-2. Sindhu slowly started retrieving the shuttles and engaged in rallies to narrow down the lead to 5-8 but she was erratic at finishing the points and lagged 5-11 at the break.
After the breather, Sindhu scored with the help of her accurate over the head smashes and smart net play to narrow it to 11-14. But she once again faltered with the length of her returns to allow Saina lead 19-13. A long rally and an accurate smash and another point. It was advantage Saina after the first game. Sindhu started the second game on an aggressive note and moved to a 4-0 lead. Saina soon started dictating terms and erased the deficit at 5-5.
While Saina used all her experience, Sindhu used her long arms and height to keep the shuttles at cross courts to lead 8-6 at one stage. But Saina used her deceptive shots and body line smashes to turn the tables, leading 12-9. With Sindhu once again hitting wide and long, Saina led 15-10. Sindhu won a long rally but a better net play took Saina to 19-13.
At this stage, Sindhu gather three points but a low flick return went to the nets and that gave four match points to Saina. A controversial line call helped Sindhu save a match point but Saina caught her junior opponent at the nets to complete the formalities without wasting any more time. This is Saina’s third straight victory over Sindhu. The two had played at the inaugural Indian Badminton league (IBl) last year where Saina got the better of the Sindhu on two occasions.
Saina had been battling a poor form and injury issues for more than a year now, which saw her slip to world number nine this week from ranked second. This win has helped her earn 7000 points and will also allow her to climb the ranking ladder.
Had trained very hard: saina
After the win, Saina said it was a difficult comeback to make and took a lot of hard work. “The comeback was not very easy for me. I had trained very hard with Gopi sir and I want to give him full credit for this victory,” Saina said after her win. which will fetch her 7000 ranking points. “Staging a comeback wasn’t easy. I gave my 100 per cent today and I am happy to win my first title after a gap of 15 months,” she added.
The two-time winner said that the win was an unbelievable feeling. “I am very happy to have won. It is still unbelievable that this has happened. I was little nervous as I was playing in a final after a long time. But things went well for me,” said the top seeded Saina. “It’s an emotional moment for me. loved the support I got. lucknow has been my favourite city, I won my first title here in 2009. It feels good to win again. The win was more special as it came after such a long time,” she added.
The london Olympics bronze medallist said she wants to dedicate the win to her parents and her mentor and chief coach Pullela Gopichand. “I am very happy that my efforts have borne fruit and I dedicate this victory to Gopi sir and my parents,” said Saina.
The Commonwealth Games champion also heaped praise on her opponent Sindhu. “Sindhu played very well. I needed many improvements in myself and I am happy that I kept my momentum going. It was a great match and the crowd enjoyed it. She is great player, and also in top-10. I am happy that I pulled it off,” said the Hyderabadi.
“I am happy with my fitness, and I wasn’t expecting an easy match against Sindhu, as we play together and know each others’ tactics very well,” she added. Meanwhile, Sindhu said she committed a lot of unforced errors. “I committed many unforced errors and that’s the reason why I lost in straight games. In fact, I was leading in the second game, but couldn’t keep my momentum going,” she said.
Sindhu said she had not made any strategies against Saina. “Saina is my senior and I had no certain plans against her before the start of the match,” she insisted.
National champion K Srikanth went down fighting against China’s Xue Song 21-16, 19-21, 13-21 in the men’s singles final. Srikanth admitted it was disappointing to lose after winning the opening game. “It was really disappointing. After winning the first game easily, I wanted to continue my good run.,” he said.