Steely determination earns glory to Saina Nehwal at Indonesia Open Premier Super Series 2012
India’s best ever shuttler Saina Nehwal showed a steely determination in the court and grabbed Women’s Singles title by beating China’s Li Xuerui in an epic final at the Indonesia Open Premier Super Series 2012 at Jakarta, Indonesia, on Sunday, June 17.
The World Number 5 Saina, who was playing her fourth consecutive Indonesia Open final, proved her worth by putting up staggering show and overpowered Xuerui who has been positioned at number three in the world.
It was the second title for Saina in a period of two weeks as she also claimed the Women’s Singles crown in last week’s Thailand Open GP Gold 2012.
In the final of Indonesia Open, the fifth seeded Saina could not find a good start but proved her worth in the second game when she saved two match points and levelled the score. In the final set, the Indian showed her class and won it with a tight margin.
On the other hand, Xuerui started her run in the opening set in a superb manner but failed maintain her focus in the following game and eventually bowed down to Saina in rubber games.
In the first set, Xuerui showed her class when she played dominating badminton and took an early lead without letting Saina to find a good flow. Until the break, the Chinese was leading the game with an impressive margin.
After the interval, Saina tried to play fast and positive badminton but failed to stop the aggression of her Chinese opponent and lost the set with a huge difference of 13-21.
In the following set, Saina showed her determination when she played aggressive badminton and took an 11-7 lead until the mid-game interval.
After the break, Xuerui was trailing at 14-18 when she played controlled game and scored six consecutive points to reach at 20-18.
At this crucial stage, Saina showed her brilliance and saved two match points and went all out to grab the set with a 22-20 score on the board.
In the deciding game, both ladies progressed while remaining focused in the court and reached at 14-14 when Saina took over the control and remained ahead of her rival for the rest of the points.
The Indian was at her best at this stage and she took the final game with a thrilling 21-19 score on the board.
She ended the final match with a breath-taking 13-21, 22-20 and 21-19 score on the board.
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