Sports-Saina trips at the final hurdle

India’s champion shuttler Saina Nehwal tripped at the final hurdle when she was in with a chance to script a piece of history-winning the Indonesian Open title for the third year in-a-row.

For, the Chinese World No.3 Wang Yihan staged a remarkable recovery from first-game blues to down the Indian 12-21, 23-21, 21-14 in the women’s singles final in the Indonesian Open in Jakarta on Sunday.

For someone who has been struggling to sustain the desired consistency this year, the 21-year-old Saina proved once again why she is India’s best bet in the 2012 London Olympics with a vintage display in the first game when Wang looked out of sorts.

Clearly under pressure to clinch a major title this year (the only win coming in the Swiss Open), World No. 4 Saina raised the bar with a clever blend of attack and defence to start her campaign in the final in style. Wang, who had a dream run in 2009 winning five Super Series titles including the All England championship, never even threatened to put up any fight.

The Indian shuttler, who lost in three games to the Chinese World No. 3 the last time she played her in the Uber Cup finals, was the more dominant against the surprisingly defensive Wang, who never came up with the big smashes

On the other hand, the Indian produced a stunning blend of net-dribbles and precise down-the-line smashes. Even as the game progressed, surprisingly Wang continued to rely on drops at the net but to her chagrin the Indian was equal to the task with a better control at the net.

But in the second game, Wang, the former All England champion, did what was expected of her - to be more aggressive to unsettle the opponent. Still, it was not a walk in the park for Wang as Saina came up with some telling smashes and slowly started showing her mastery at the net.

To her credit, the Indian, playing in her sixth Indonesian Open (having won the 2009 and the 2010 editions) reduced what looked a winning lead in the second game for Wang (16-12) with a great game, forcing the Chinese commit unforced errors. Then, serving for the match at 20-19, Saina faltered with her deep return. Just the opening the Chinese was looking to bounce back and she did not waste it by winning that exciting second game with a terrific, backhand return.

The third game began on an even note with lead changing sides frequently before Wang surged ahead, with some powerful forehand smashes which brooked no return. That was the phase when Wang changed gears so well that the Hyderabadi was clearly struggling to move around and the end-result was no surprise when Saina’s down the line-smash went out to the delight of the Chinese player. 

The Hindu