Saina Nehwal beats Olympic silver medallist and World No.2 PV Sindhu in a final to win third women’s singles national.
The scoreline says it all. It was an excellent display of badminton skills by both the players and it was Saina who held her nerve in the end to emerge victorious at 21-17, 27-25.
Although it was a 2-0 win for Saina Nehwal. Her opponent PV Sindhu stretched her to the limits in the second game and it was badminton at its best.
Saina Nehwal always wears an intense armour on court. She wills herself on, pumping her fists and screeching after winning a hard-fought point or muttering after conceding one.
She is known to scowl and screech and is intensity personified. On Thursday, in Sindhu she faced an opponent who maintains a similar demeanour on court.
The pair had put on an enthralling show with numerous rallies going well beyond 20 shots — it happened three times after they were level on 20-20.
At 12-9 in the first game, Sindhu let loose a full-blooded smash. Nehwal countered the overhead drive with a cool push over the net that left her opponent rooted to the spot.
The 22-year-old lanky shuttler extended her lead to 14-10 and maintained that till 18-14.
Sindhu, however, committed a series of unforced errors to allow the London Games bronze medallist draw parity at 18-18.
Sindhu saved a match point and some excruciating long rallies ensued, which had the packed crowd on their toes.
With the lead changing hands too frequently, it was Saina who eventually broke the deadlock when Sindhu failed to retrieve a return.