Saina Nehwal defeats Aprilla Yuswandari in Women’s Singles first round at Hong Kong Open 2012
India’s best shuttler Saina Nehwal got a reasonable start in Hong Kong as she played good badminton and registered a decent victory over Indonesia’s Aprilla Yuswandari in Women’s Singles first round of Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open 2012 on Wednesday, November
21.
The World Number Three Saina, who has been placed at number three in Women’s Singles seeding in the tournament, had to dig into her arsenal to produce better form and she managed to oust her Indonesian challenger in just 33 minutes.
Indian shuttler faced a little wobble in the opening round where she had to put in extra effort. However, it was a smooth ride in the following set and she managed to end up the clash in straight sets with a convincing total on the board.
The lower ranked Aprilla, on the other hand, put up strong resistance in the opening set but remained unlucky in the ending points and lost it. She failed to focus in the game in second set and eventually crashed out without creating a strong impact.
Saina started her run in the opening set in a relaxed fashion which encouraged her rival to employ her powerful shots and stay close at the early stage.
The score progressed in the similar fashion and it was the Indian lady who took a reasonable lead of 11-8 on the board until the one-minute break.
After the mid-game interval, the lofty Saina stayed focused on court but she could not stretch the lead as her Indonesian challenger was also playing positive and aggressive badminton.
Both ladies progressed equally and reached at 20-20 when Saina played with precision and remained successful in taking the opening set with a tight margin of 22-20.
In the second game, Aprilla was in all sorts of trouble as she faced a hostile treatment from her Indian challenger who was at her best on court.
The third seeded Saina displayed her attacking skills on court by picking the bird early from all areas and managed a staggering lead of 11-6 until the one-minute break.
After the interval, Indian shuttler continued putting up staggering show and remained successful in securing the game with a superb 21-8 total on score board.
The in-form Saina won this opening round contest in a dominating manner with a reasonable margin of 22-20 and 21-8.
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