Juliane Schenk registers victory over Saina Nehwal in semi-final of the Japan Open Super Series
Germany’s ace shuttler, Juliane Schenk continued her magnificent run as she registered a remarkable victory over India’s Saina Nehwal in the Women’s Singles semi-final of the 2011 Japan Open Super Series, in Tokyo, Japan, on Saturday, September 24.
World Number Eight shuttler, Schenk displayed incredible badminton by playing with wonderful aggression against World Number Five, Nehwal who was the fourth seed in the championship. The German has been playing terrifically well throughout the tournament
and crushed many higher ranked shuttlers in her way to the final.
The opening game of this Women’s Singles fight was close as both shuttlers played with aggression and precision. The German was quicker in picking the bird from the tape of the net and kept her opponent moving in both corners of the rear court. Nehwal was
struggling to pick the bird early in the opening half. However, she remained close until the interval by reaching at 10-11.
After the break, the German lifter her level of play and started to execute powerful smashes frequently. Her power-play created pressure on the Indian in the rest of the opening game. However, Nehwal managed to reach at 19-19 all by playing a positive game,
but she failed to continue her run in the ending points. The German scored the finishing points and won the set with a narrow margin of 21-19, in 23 minutes.
In the second game, Nehwal played with precision in the opening points and remained equal against the in-form Schenk until the score reached at 8-8. The German accelerated her speed at this stage and scored three consecutive points to lead at the end of
the opening half.
In the second-half, Schenk played terrific badminton against the higher ranked Nehwal. The score was 14-10, when the German scored seven successive points to finish the second set in style with the score of 21-10 in just 16 minutes. The concluding score
for this 39-minute semi-final showdown was 21-19 and 21-10.
In the Women’s Singles final, Schenk will take on the top seed, Wang Yihan of China.
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