What’s the story?
Saina Nehwal kicked off her India Open Superseries campaign with a 21-10 21-17 victory against Chia Hsin Lee of Chinese Taipei in the opening round. Playing just her third tournament since returning from surgery, Nehwal spoke about the match in the post-match press conference and how she is still on the road to recovery.
”She is a tricky opponent to face since she also plays doubles. She wanted to play faster, finish off points quickly and was not allowing me to play my natural game of long rallies,” said the bronze medalist from the 2012 Olympics.
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Nehwal looked to be in a hurry herself as she spurned three match points towards the end while looking to finish off the match. “Towards the end, I was getting a bit anxious, which was a mistake I made. I’m still not playing at my 100 percent and was in a hurry to complete the game. I was still moving slowly, but it will surely improve in the next rounds as my body opens up.”
The 27-year-old was also asked about what she thought about Carolina Marin’s recent statement, where she said that she wouldn’t let the Indian become world number one. She had said, “I would like to be the World No. 1. So I don’t think I am going to allow it (letting Saina become the world number one).”
Nehwal replied in fine fashion, saying, “I have already been at the number one spot. Right now, Tai Tzu Ying is at the top spot and let’s see whether Marin can herself become world number one. Personally, my aim is to win as many matches and tournaments as I can and it doesn’t matter where I am ranked at the moment.”
In case you didn’t know...
After a disappointing outing at the Rio Olympics last year, Nehwal was out for a long stretch after undergoing surgery on her knee. Even Marin, who has struggled for form of late, has been struck by injury woes and has slipped to fourth in the world rankings.
Marin was asked earlier during the tournament can get back to the top. The Spaniard had replied, “I would like to be World No.1. So I don't think I am going to allow it.”
The heart of the matter
The Indian shuttler recorded a routine win in her Round of 32 matchup against her opponent from Taipei. In the first game, she picked up six straight points to open up a 7-2 lead, before going into the break at 11-7. Lee could only manage to win three more points as Nehwal wrapped up the game at 21-10.
In the second, the Indian Open champion from 2015 was slow out of the blocks as Lee raced to a 1-5 lead with two powerful body smashes. But it was Nehwal who went into the breather with the upper hand at 11-9, winning four points in a row, which included a delectable crosscourt drop shot.
She soon had six match points at 20-14 but was successful only on her fourth attempt, after she appeared to be in a hurry to close out the tie and made a couple of glaring unforced errors.
What’s next?
Nehwal entered the Round of 16 with this win and remains on course for a possible showdown with PV Sindhu in the quarters.
Author’s Take
Saina’s response to Marin’s quip was most certainly a delightful one. Her performance was equally satisfying as well, as she saw off a tricky opponent in straight sets.
