Saina draws first blood
16 Aug 2013 5:55 AM IST
India’s badminton queen Saina Nehwal stamped her authority with a dominating win over P V Sindhu as Hyderabad Hotshots notched up a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Awadhe Warriors in the inaugural Indian badminton League on Thursday.
Touted as the biggest match of the day, the women’s singles between Saina and Sindhu turned out to a one-sided affair as the London Olympics bronze medallist registered a 21-19 21-8 win over Sindhu, who looked a pale shadow of her fighting self which has earned her the title of a giant slayer.
Saina has not won a single title this year and also failed to win a medal at world championship but she tamed her fast rising compatriot after some initial tough moments.
She recovered from a slow start to dominate the proceedings against Sindhu, who broke into the world top 10 in the latest BWF ranking on Thursday.
The young Hyderabadi was leading 7-3 in the first interval and then kept a 14-10 lead in the second break. But Saina, who was depending more on her baseline down the line smashes till now, changed gears and clawed back with some immaculate body smashes and then marched ahead to win the game 21-19.
Touted as the biggest match of the day, the women’s singles between Saina and Sindhu turned out to a one-sided affair as the London Olympics bronze medallist registered a 21-19 21-8 win over Sindhu, who looked a pale shadow of her fighting self which has earned her the title of a giant slayer.
Saina has not won a single title this year and also failed to win a medal at world championship but she tamed her fast rising compatriot after some initial tough moments.
She recovered from a slow start to dominate the proceedings against Sindhu, who broke into the world top 10 in the latest BWF ranking on Thursday.
The young Hyderabadi was leading 7-3 in the first interval and then kept a 14-10 lead in the second break. But Saina, who was depending more on her baseline down the line smashes till now, changed gears and clawed back with some immaculate body smashes and then marched ahead to win the game 21-19.
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