Shuttler Saina Nehwal received a huge boost ahead of the Rio Olympics as she clinched her second Australian Open Super Series title after defeating China’s Sun Yu in a thrilling three-game final in Sydney on Sunday.
The 26-year-old from Hyderabad eked out a 11-21, 21-14 21-19 victory over World No 12 Sun in a fighting summit clash that lasted an hour and 12 minutes.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina, who had beaten two world champions — Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon (2013) and China’s Yihan Wang (2011) — in the quarterfinals and semifinals, thus clinched her maiden title of the season and pocketed a cheque of $56,250.
It is Saina’s second Australian Open victory, having clinched the title in 2014 as well. It ended a rather long title drought for the celebrated Indian, whose previous silverware was at the India Super Series in New Delhi last year.
Saina had defeated Sun five times in the last five outings but she faced a tough challenge against the 22-year-old Chinese, who took just 18 minutes to wrap up the opening game at the Sydney Olympic Park.
Sun dished out a fast-paced game, which Saina failed to break initially. The Indian struggled with the length of the shuttle and committed a few unforced errors early on as the duo moved together till 4-4.
Saina missed a couple of points at the net and also hit wide to allow Sun a lead of 7-4. The Indian failed to connect and reach for a few returns which allowed Sun to extend the lead at 10-5. At the break, Sun led 11-6 when Saina’s backhand return failed to cross the net.
Two wide returns by Sun helped Saina narrow the gap but the Chinese kept engaging her in fast rallies, not allowing her to play her own game. The Indian also faltered in judging the shuttle at the backline three times to see Sun lead 17-10.
With Sun covering the court well, the margin of error was zero for Saina and she eventually conceded the opening game after losing a video referral following a wide shot.
After changing sides, the second game started on an even keel as the duo were locked 4-4 again. Sun used her deceptive shots to wriggle out of tricky situations and also covered the front court well to lead 6-4.
Saina grabbed a couple of points to draw level and with Sun sending the shuttle outside twice, the Indian led 10-8. She entered the interval with a three-point lead when Sun hit the net.
The Chinese grabbed two quick points after the break but Saina continued to break the pace by playing few attacking shots and drawing the Chinese close to the net with deceptive strokes. The result was Saina leading 17-12.
With Sun hitting the net, Saina grabbed six game points and converted the first after the Chinese found the net again.
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