Saina Nehwal draws first blood

The Independence Day festivity and patriotic spirit was evident at Siri Fort indoor stadium on Thursday as a sizeable capacity crowd turned up at the venue to witness the ‘first’ of the battles that every Indian would love to see in the coming years.

World No. 4 Saina Nehwal versus World No. 10 PV Sindhu!

And going by the mood, the crowd and badminton aficionados were only interested in watching this key clash, impatiently waiting for the first men’s singles between Saemsomboonsuk Tanongsak and RMV Gurusaidutt to finish. Hyderabad Hotshots’ Tanongsak gave his team a 1-0 lead despite losing the first game 15-21.

Sindhu won the toss and chose to receive. “We have never played a match before. I just want to give my 100 per cent today,” was Sindhu’s measured statement before entering the court. It was Saina who took the first two points with ease as Sindhu battled to control her nerves. But once she managed to put her cross court smash in place, there was no looking back. A four straight points made it 4-2 before Saina took one with a down-the-line smash.

Sindhu was on a roll by now and showed her fans why she is being hailed as Indian badminton’s future with her greater court coverage. At 4-8, Saina forged her way back with some powerful baseline smashes to take three straight points, before levelling it 9-9.
Sindhu, on the other hand, displayed scant emotion on the court and continued to stretch Saina with some deceptive court play to take the next five points.

The only time Sindhu looked in any kind of pressure was when Saina regained complete control of the game to take five straight points, and then the lead at 16-15 for the first time in match. At 17-17, it was anybody’s game but Sindhu’s unforced error at the net and then an easy surrender in the next made matters worse for her.

Saina’s experience won her the advantage as Sindhu once again committed an unforced error at 18-19 before giving away the game with yet another nervous loop on the mid of the court.

Having pocketed the first game 21-19, Saina never allowed her 18-year-old opponent to settle down in the second with some clever placements and opportune taps at the net. The experience started telling as Saina raced to 8-4 lead after controlling big rallies in between. Sindhu committed some silly mistakes at this point to hand Saina easy points and a decisive lead at 14-6.

And when finally Saina finished the day’s play with a smash down the middle, the scoreline of 21-19 21-8 had been registered in badminton history as first of the epic clashes.

“In the first game, there was a lot of pressure on me. Also, Sindhu has been doing well at the international level and that gives a lot of confidence to a player. I am happy to win against her and hope to play many more matches with her in the future,” said an elated Saina after her victory.

As the ensuing two matches were split between Hyderabad and Lucknow, it was left to the mixed doubles pair of V Shem Goh/ Pradnya Gadre to beat Marcis Kido-Sapsiree 21-9 19-21 11-8 and hand Hyderabad Hotshots the tie.