2012 BWF Superseries Finals: Saina Nehwal secure a semi-final berth in Women’s Singles event
India’s badminton queen Saina Nehwal stretched her winning streak in BWF Superseries Finals and ensured her presence in the semi-final round of Women’s Singles event on December 14, 2012.
She thrashed Juliane Schenk in a Group B match that lasted for 37 minutes before ending with concluding figures of 21-7 and 21-18.
World Number three Saina Nehwal ruled the court throughout this showdown and sealed a splendid straight-set victory. With such an emphatic performance, she alarmed her next challenger Li Xuerui of China.
Meanwhile, the German campaigner looked completely off colour as she could not pocket a single match point and crashed out of this prestigious event in a disgraceful manner.
First sign of trouble came for Juliane Schenk when her competitor launched a brisk attack and confined her in the rear court.
She strived hard to come out of her rival’s influence but failed to hit the mark in the opening game.
On the other hand, the Indian shuttler established an unassailable lead without any delay and relished full benefits of this early advantage.
She mounted pressure by clinching six consecutive points in the beginning and then magnified the impact by registering a mountainous figure of 11.
After the mid-game break, Saina Nehwal gathered some pace and widened the gap on points table. This significant lead helped her to keep the German player at lower end. She served notice of her supremacy with an overwhelming score of 21-7.
The second set remained in full swing until last shot was played as both contenders challenged each other in all areas of the game.
They snapped at each other’s heels and remained close on the points table throughout this segment.
Initially, Saina capitalised her first set win and managed to place a decent total of six but then Juliane Schenk stormed back and levelled the score.
Both female shuttlers chased each other all the way to game point situation and this cliff-hanging set concluded when Saina Nehwal tipped the scale in her favour.
She prevailed in ending five rallies and raised hands as victor after putting 21-18 margin on the board.
Now she will swing arms against the Olympic champion Li Xuerui in semifinal round of this tournament.
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