Saina Nehwal struggles against Nichaon Jindapon in Women’s Singles first round at Thailand Open
India’s best shuttler Saina Nehwal found a tough start as she remained struggling in her narrow victory over Thailand’s Nichaon Jindapon in Women’s Singles first round at the SCG Thailand Open GP Gold 2012 at Bangkok, Thailand, on Wednesday, June 6.
The World Number 5 Saina, who is number one seed in Women’s Singles draw of Thailand Open, had to dig into her arsenal to overpower her spirited Thai opponent in a well-fought three-set battle.
The top seeded Saina won the first game but lost the second one. However, she managed to play well in the concluding phase of final set and wrapped up victory with a reasonable difference on the board.
On the other hand, Nichaon entertained her home fans by showing a tremendous resistance against her higher ranked Indian opponent but failed to live up to expectations in the final set and lost the match in three games.
In the opening game, Saina played her normal game by taking the bird early and also made her Thai rival work hard in all areas of the court.
Until the break, the Indian shuttler was miles ahead of her local opponent on the score board.
After the break, Saina continued showing her marvellous skills as she did now allow her challenger to catch up the lead at any stage and took the set with a superb score of 21-13.
In the second game, Nichaon played remarkable game by increasing her speed and did not let Saina to take comfortable lead until the break.
After the interval, Saina lost her focus in the game and could not remain focused which caused her to drop the second game with a 16-21 score on the board.
In the final set, both shuttlers played to their maximum abilities and the score remained close until the mid-game interval.
After the break, Saina started to take the bird early and also injected more power into her shots. She managed a reasonable lead and maintained it to take the set with a 21-15 margin on the board.
The higher ranked Saina managed to win her first match in the tournament with a close score of 21-13, 16-21 and 21-15.
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