Saina wins Indonesian Open, hat-trick of titles (Intro Roundup)

JAKARTA/NEW DELHI - Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal Sunday overcame a fighting Sayaka Sato of Japan 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 to win the Indonesian Open Super Series, capping a stupendous run with a hat-trick of titles.

Top seeded Saina was given a tough fight by giant-killer Sato, ranked 26, but the Indian prevailed in 45 minutes in front of a packed stadium that had a sprinkling of Indians jubilantly waving the tricolour.

Saina was a strong favourite to defend her title after winning the Indian Open Grand Prix and the Singapore Open Super Series in the last two weeks that saw her climb two places in the rankings, marching ahead of the three top Chinese players.

The 20-year-old Indian, with many records to her name, is expected to go up one more place in the world rankings after her amazing show and draw near to No.1 Wang Yihan of China.

“It’s a memorable victory and a very special moment for me. My confidence level has gone up. I can never forget that in three weeks I have won 15 matches in a row and every day I have been enjoying,” said Saina.

“I not much worried about my ranking. There are important events like the World Championship, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, and I want to perform well in these events. So I am not looking at rankings. But I am very happy that I am world number 3.

“For me, it is more important to win tournaments, and for that I have to work harder. There is lot to work and achieve.”

At her home in Hyderabad, her parents were overcome with emotion as they watched their daughter on television.

Saina’s father Harvir Singh shed tears of joy as Saina walked up to the victory podium. “It is a wonderful feeling and we are very proud of her,” he said, covering his tear-filled eyes with his hands.

Saina’s mother Usha was deluged with congratulatory phone calls. “Sato was pretty fast but Saina maintained a rhythm and played good strokes. We will give her a grand welcome,” she said.

Coach Pullela Gopichand termed it a huge achievement for Indian sport.

“It is a phenomenal achievement. I have not heard of any international player winning three titles in three weeks in the recent times,” Gopichand told IANS

“She has tremendous self-confidence and motivation to do well. It is her belief in her abilities, physical fitness and her mental grit which has brought her so far in international career in a short span of time,” said Gopichand.

On Sunday, she used all her experience to get past Sato, who gave a strong fight to the Indian. Sato had upset two seeded players, including third seed Zhou Mi of Hong Kong.

“It was quite close. She gave me a tough fight. She has hard smashes and good drives. I could not defend when she was attacking in the second game. In the third game I caught her at the net where she was bit weak that was my advantage,” said Saina.

The resilient Japanese, who in 2008 lost to Saina in the final of the World Junior Badminton championship in Pune, bounced back from a game down with some crisp drop shots.

Saina made a confident start and quickly opened up a 8-4 lead. But Sato caught her up at 11-11 exhibiting brilliant backhand shots. The Japanese also took advantage of Saina’s errors.

It was a neck-and-neck battle from thereon, with both players competing fiercely for every point.

Sato took the lead at 17-16 but Saina surged ahead pocketing three points before finishing off the game.

The left-handed Sato dictated the course of play in the second game, putting Saina under pressure. With a supple wrist, the Japanese set up the the points beautifully even as Saina tried hard to comeback.

Sato took a 6-2 lead and consolidated on it to put it beyond the Indian, who preserved her energy for the decider.

Saina came back strongly in the second game. It was her net play that got the better of the Japanese, who struggled to read Saina’s game.

Once Saina went up 8-5, Sato went down with a string of errors.

Saina served for the match as a hush descended on the stadium. But soon it exploded into cheers and applause as Saina screamed after Sato shut out her chances with a wild shot.