In a huge boost ahead of the Rio Olympic Games, Saina Nehwal showed signs of returning to top form as she captured her second Australian Open title at the Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday.
In a huge boost ahead of the Rio Olympic Games, Saina Nehwal showed signs of returning to top form as she captured her second Australian Open title at the Sydney Olympic Park on Sunday.
The title win was Saina’s first Superseries tournament this year since winning the India Open in March 2015, when she achieved the world no. 1 ranking.
The world no. 8 Indian rallied to overcome the 12th-ranked Chinese Sun Yun 11-21, 21-14, 21-19 in a 71-minute summit clash.
Saina took time to find her rhythm, committing a few unforced errors initially that saw her lose the opening game 11-21.
But she showed great determination and retrieval skills to clinch the next one 21-14.
In the decider, she opened up a 6-3 lead before Sun nearly caught up with her at 11-10. Saina engaged her opponent in a couple of fierce rallies but the Chinese’s down the line smashes proved too strong (15-14).
A determined Saina, however, moved to a four point lead after Sun hit the shuttle wide. At 20-17, Sun saved two points but still wasn’t enough to stop Saina from regaining the title after 2014.
In the men’s clash, Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus defeated South Korea’s Jeon Hyeok-Jin 21-16, 19-21, 21-11 to win his first Superseries title.
En route to her maiden title of the season, Saina had beaten world champions Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon (2013) and China’s Wang Yihan (2011) in the quarter-finals and semi-finals, respectively.
Determination was key for Saina: Vimal Saina’s coach U. Vimal Kumar praised her “determination”, which he believed did the trick on the day.
“I am impressed with the way she played in the semi-final and final. After a poor start, she found her way back and that was made possible only because of her determination,” Vimal told this paper.
“I am happy to see her attacking well. She didn’t get the length initially as Sun was dictating the rallies. The most important thing today was her determined play. Saina wanted the win badly and that made the difference.
“In my opinion, she is moving much faster and attacking more than ever before. This win should spur her preparation towards the Olympics.
“There is a lot of scope of improvement and the next six to seven weeks will help her prepare better,” the former chief national coach said.
Vimal pointed out that wins against in-form players like Wang or Ratchanok was “great for Saina’s psyche”.
“Saina has specific strategies for specific players and it is only the question of executing them.”
