India's ace shuttler and former World No.1 Saina Nehwal held her nerve to see off a strong challenge from Chinese Taipei's Pai Yu Po and win her first-round women's singles tie at the $9,00,000 Indonesia Super Series Premier badminton tournament here on Tuesday.
The three-time champion came back after losing the second game to register a 21-11, 19-21, 21-15 win over World No.23 Yu Po in a contest which lasted for an hour and three minutes.
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Right from the outset, Saina played some delightful shots but Yu Po just would not give up easily. She fought till it was 5-5 and then made it 14-11 in the first game but then Saina surged ahead, grabbing seven back-to-back points and with it the opening match.
Saina continued her momentum in the second game and moved to a 10-5 lead but Yu Po refused to surrender and rallied back to 12-10. She then showed steely determination to collect the remaining points with Saina breathing down her neck and levelled the scoreline at 1-1.
In the decider, the present World No.8 flew past Yu Po in the first half bagging a lead of 11-5. The 25-year-old from Taiwan once again caught up with the Indian at 13-13. But then Saina stepped up her game and managed to ensure there were no further setbacks as she sealed the deal at 21-15.
Saina will next lock horns against Indonesian Fitriani Fitriani on Wednesday.
