New Delhi: Saina Nehwal proved her mettle in the Indian Badminton League as she beat PV Sindhu in women's singles and helped Hyderabad Hotshots beat Awadhe Warriors 3-2 on the second day of Indian Badminton League on Thursday. Saina managed to east past PV Sindhu with her brilliant blend experience and aggressive approach.
In the opening match of the day, RMV Gurusaidutt failed to cease the moment after winning the first game and lost the match with 21-15 14-21 9-11 to Saemsomboonsuk Tanongsak of Thailand. Awadhe Warriors were 0-1 down after this unexpected turn of the events in the first match.
Meanwhile, the most awaited clash of the tournament between Sindhu and Saina turned out to be a one-sided affair as Saina managed to seal the game with a 21-19 21-8 win. Sindhu didn’t manage to live up to the expectation of being a giant-killer but she did give some tough time to Saina in the first set.
Saina received some very fine and deceptive drops from Sindhu but she recollected her act to take a better grip in this thrilling contest. Sindhu managed to break early in the contest and managed to took a 14-10 lead. But as the game went on Saina was able to stamp her authority with her body smashes which gave her a lead by 17-15.
Sindhu managed to pick two quick points but very soon she was trailing as she played the shuttle into the net. Saina didn’t give her 18-year-old opponent any more breathing space and sealed the game with a brilliant smash.
Sindhu was looking bit ruffled after losing the opening game which made her come back much more difficult, as she kept on committing the unforced errors to hand over a lead of 7-4 which was extended to 14-6 by Saina by the end of first two intervals. Saina’s supremacy was quite visible with her confident smashes as she registered the much needed win.
Awadhe Warriors didn’t lose hopes and it was the duo of Markis Kido of Indonesia and Mathias Boe of Denmark which gave them a ray of hope by winning the match by 21-14, 21-20 in the third match of the day.
Warriors were still lagging by 1-2, and it was young K Srikanth who won against higher-ranked Ajay Jayaram in straight-games to make it 2-2.
It was more of a make and break situation for Hyderabad and their mixed doubles pair responded brilliantly to this tricky situation. Pradyna and Shem recorded a 21-9 19-21 11-8 victory over Markis Kido of Indonesia and Thailand's Sapsiree Taerattanachal.
