It seems that Chinese dominance for the last five years in badminton has been challenged by new power houses, especially Malaysia in men’s badminton and unexpectedly by India in woman’s badminton.
It was India’s Saina Nehwal that challenged Chinese domination by winning another super series tournament HK open. It was a closely contested match between Saina Nehwal of India and Wang Shixian of China. Saina lost first set to Asian games gold medallist
by 15-21 but then she was able to weather the storm in second and third game and showed tactical side of her game by using fast paced rallies and powerful smashes. The final score was 15-21, 21-16, 21-17 in a match which lasted for 71 minutes. The Indian was
seeded second for the tournament.
Earlier the 20-year-old defeated Germany’s world number 6 Juliane Schenk in the semi-finals by 21-19, 17-21, 21-12. Asian gold medallist Wang Shixian proved her skills by defeating Wang Xin former world number one by 21-13, 21-14 in just 31 minutes. Despite
being on professional circuit for only 17 months her performances are brilliant.
For Saina it was remarkable year in which she managed to win three super series title and also won gold medal in Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi in October. This year also saw her ranking rose to as high as world number two after
winning three consecutive Super Series tournaments. It did not disappoint her for not ending the year as world number one as 2010 turned out to be a dream year for her.
“Honestly, I was not thinking really big before the Hong Kong Open began. But, eventually I felt really happy that I played consistently right through from the first round till the final.” Saina said.
“Yes, the disappointment of Guangzhou Asian Games still haunts me. But that I could that put behind me and come up with a high quality display soon is really a memorable experience,” she added.
Referring to the rankings, Saina felt she would have been definitely happier had she finished the year as the world number one however, she is not bothered about ranking.
As far as her future prospects are concerned, the Indian believes there is a very good chance of winning some more major Super Series titles if she is able to maintain her current form.
She described it would be fantastic she can win the All England, World Championship and the Olympics gold.
Her performance was commendable after her lacklustre display in Asian Games in Guangzhou, China where she was eliminated in quarter-finals. However, she managed to end the year as world number four and now her focus would be next year's
All England and 2012 London Olympics.
The 20-year-old from Hyderabad India is a new sensation in the world of badminton and would be a treat to watch next year. She has to win number of big tournaments to prove her mettle in years to come.
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