Saina rallies to claim title
Saina Nehwal of India survived a scare from Malaysian Wong Mew Choo to clinch the women’s title of the Yonex-Sunrise Indian Open Grand Prix Gold 2010 badminton championship at the Nehru indoor stadium on Sunday. The top seed rallied from a game down to post a memorable 20-22, 21-14, 21-12 victory over the second seeded Choo.
In the men’s singles final, unseeded Alamsyah Yunus continued his brilliant streak to nail the title. The Indonesian did not face much trouble in packing off crowd favourite R.M.V. Gurusaidutt (India) in straight games 21-13, 21-18. The other gold for India came in the mixed doubles as V. Diju and Jwala Gutta registered a battling 23-21, 20-22, 21-7 win against Indonesian pair Lei Yao and Chayut Triyachart.
Saina was slow to get off the blocks and saw Choo race to an early lead. But the Indian caught up with her opponent and surged to 11-9 lead. The next few points went neck to neck until Choo, trailing 18-19, committed a baseline judgment error that handed Saina the game point. But three unforced errors on a trot gave the visitor a chance to wrap-up the game which she did with a well-placed crosscourt smash.
But Saina fought back with grit and claimed the next game and went on to clinch the decider. “I was a bit nervous in the first game. And when she was leading 4-2 in the decider, I told myself to stay calm It was important for me to win here and I am happy I did it. The crowd was absolutely brilliant, it did help me up the ante,” she said.
Results (All Finals)
Singles: Men: Alamsyah Yunus (Indo) bt R.M.V. Gurusaidutt (7, Ind) 21-13, 21-18. Women: Saina Nehwal (1, Ind) bt Wong Mew Choo (2, Malay) 20-22, 21-14, 21-12.
Doubles: Men: Mohd. Tazari Fairuzizuan/Mohd. Abdul Latif Zakry (1, Malay) bt K.T. Rupesh /Sanave Thomas (2, Ind) 21-12, 22-20.
Women: Lei Yao/Shinta Mulia Sari (1, Sing) bt Ashwini Ponnappa/ Jwala Gutta (2, Ind) 21-11, 9-21, 21-15. Mixed: Jwala Gutta/V. Diju (1, Ind) bt Lei Yao/Chayut Triyachart 23-21, 20-22, 21-7.
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