It took only 28 minutes for a new champion to be crowned at the World Junior Badminton Championship as India’s Saina Nehwal beat Sayaka Sato
PUNE: It took only 28 minutes for a new champion to be crowned at the World Junior Badminton Championship as India’s Saina Nehwal beat Sayaka Sato of Japan 21-9 21-18 in the final at Balewadi Sports Complex here on Sunday.
The badminton stadium erupted into cheers and hoots as the Japanese southpaw’s forehand went out of the baseline in the final point of the second game. Soon, spectators rose to crown India’s first world junior champion.
Saina’s hold on the game can be gauged by her powerful smashes that helped her win crucial points. “I have never played her (Sato) earlier. I thought it would be a tough match but turned out otherwise,” said Saina after she took just 11 minutes to win the first game 21-9. But for some power-packed smashes, Saina didn’t flex too many muscles as her opponent committed many unforced errors.
“I think it was not her day on the court, but she scared me in the second game when she came back to give a tough fight,” Saina said recounting how Sato replied with 18 points, before hitting the net and sending one outside the baseline. That eventually scripted victory for the Indian.
“This win is a morale-booster as I move to a higher league in the days to come. It will definitely play an important role in the venture ahead. It is nice to win a gold medal at this level and that too in Pune, which is considered the birthplace of badminton,” added Saina.
Commenting on the crowd present, Saina said, “The crowd support did play a role in my victory, and I thank everyone present for that.”
In the boy’s singles final, Zhengming Wang proved the seedings wrong crushing top seed Huan Gao in straight games winning the crown, in an all-China affair earlier in the day. With 21 smash winners under his belt, Wang scored a 21-13 21-16 to clinch the title in 29 minutes.
Results:
Girls’ Singles: Saina Nehwal (India) bt Sayaka Sato (Japan) 21-9 21-18 Doubles: Mingtian Fu/Lei Yao (Singapore) bt Xie Jing/Zhong Qianxin (China) 21-19 21-17.
Boys’ Singles: Zhengming Wang (China) bt Huan Gao (China) 21-13 21-16 Doubles: Hee Chun Mak /Kok Siang Teo (Malaysia) bt Biao Chai/Zihan Qui (China) 21-18 21-14
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