Saina becomes first Indian to win Super Series

New Delhi, June 21 (PTI) Ace woman 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 higher ranked Chinese
Lin Wang in Jakarta.

Saina clinched her maiden Super Series title beating Wang
12-21 21-18 21-9 in an edge-of-the-seat thriller that lasted
49 minutes.

Her triumph on Sunday is the best ever performance by any
Indian woman and at par with All England Championship titles
won by Prakash Padukone and her current coach Pullela
Gopichand.

In the thrilling final, world number eight Saina came
from behind to outsmart world number three Wang and avenge her
last week's Singapore Open Super Series loss to the same
rival.

Saina took time to get into the groove as she struggled
to gauge the gameplan of Wang in the first game. Wang opened a
4-9 lead and rode on her smashes and better net play to pocket
the first game as Saina was left to do the catchup act.

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 in her attacking best besides
displaying better nerves in crucial moments.

After moving neck and neck till 7-7, Saina went berserk
by engaging her rival in soft dribble and net play to widen
the gap at 15-9 before reeling off six straight points to seal
her place in history.

Hailing Saina's victory as an important milestone in
Indian badminton, Badminton Association of India announced a
cash prize of Rs 2 lakh as a 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 two
lakhs as an acknowledgment of Saina's hard work and
achievement," BAI president V K Verma said.

"It is a moment to cherish for Indian sports. Saina
has put up a lot of hard work but I will also want to thank
the Sports Ministry for their support and financial help," he
added. PTI ATK
SRU
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