Saina Nehwal finally broke the jinx and became the first Indian woman to achieve the no-1 ranking in badminton on Sunday. She defeated Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon on Sunday, to win the India Open super series. Intanon also happens to be a former World Champion.
The Olympic bronze medalist played like a true champion and defeated her rival with much ease. Saina won 21-16, 21-14, in a match which kept its grip on the audience throughout the duration of the match. Saina’s better movement and accurate smashes helped her to win the match against the clever Intanon. Saina has been on a role since the time she has won the Chinese open. She managed to anticipate her rival’s moves and countered them perfectly.
Intanon seemed to be out of place, as she had an energy sapping match against Sapin’s Carolina Marin. The match lasted for almost an hour and a half. She seemed to be slow in the match against Saina. Saina led 11-5 early in the game. After the break, the Thai seemed to get her rhythm back, as she managed to engage Saina in long rallies. She managed to lessen the gap by 10-12.
There were brief moments in the match, where it seemed that the Thai might just get better off Saina. However, Saina did not allow the Thai to settle down. Saina’s smashes were just too good for the Thai. It was clear that Intanon was no match for Saina. Saina seemed to have answers to everything that was thrown at her by the Thai.
The Indian badminton ace had won the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold in Lucknow at the starting of this year in January. She recently also became the first Indian woman to reach the final of the All India championship. She achieved the no-1 ranking when Spain’s Carolina Marin lost in the Semi finals against Ratchanok Intanon.
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