Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal on Sunday scripted history by becoming the first Indian to win a Super Series tournament after she clinched the Indonesian Open title with a stunning victory over the higher ranked Chinese Lin Wang in Jakarta.
Saina clinched her maiden Super Series title beating Wang 12-21, 21-18, 21-9 in a thriller that lasted 49 minutes.
In the men’s singles, World’s No. 1 Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia defeated Indonesian ace Taufik Hidayat 21-9, 21-14.
Best ever
Saina’s triumph is the best ever performance by any Indian woman and on par with All England Championship titles won by Prakash Padukone and her current coach Pullela Gopichand.
In the final, World No. 8 Saina came from behind to outsmart World No. 3 Wang and avenge her last week’s Singapore Open Super Series loss to her.
Saina took time to get into the groove as she struggled to gauge the gameplan of Wang in the first game. Wang opened a 9-4 lead and rode on her smashes and better net play to pocket the first game.
But the Indian ace rallied her way back in the second game. Saina levelled the score at 5-5 and then moved together with her Chinese rival till 17-17 before surging ahead to pocket the second game 21-18.
In the decider, Saina was at her attacking best and displayed better nerves in crucial moments.
After moving neck and neck till 7-7, Saina engaged her rival in soft dribble and net play to widen the gap to 15-9 before reeling off six straight points to seal her victory.
Bonanza
Hailing Saina’s victory as an important milestone in Indian badminton, Badminton Association of India announced a cash prize of Rs. 2 lakh as recognition of her feat.
“It is a big moment in Indian badminton. We are proud of her achievement. We are announcing a cash reward of Rs. 2 lakh as an acknowledgment of Saina’s hard work and achievement,” BAI president V.K. Verma said.
The results (finals): Women: Saina Nehwal (Ind) bt Lin Wang (Chn) 12-21, 21-18, 21-9. Doubles: Eei Hui Chin & Pei Tty Wong (Mas) bt Shu Cheng & Yunlie Zhao (Chn) 21-16, 21-16.
Men: Lee Chong Wei (Mas) bt Taufik Hidayat (Ina) 21-9, 21-14.
Mixed doubles: Bo Zheng & Jin Ma (Chn) bt Yong Dae Lee & Hyo Jung Lee (Kor) 21-17, 8-21, 21-16.
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