Makes first Super Series final since Indonesia triumph in June 2009; Kashyap goes down to Thailand’s Ponsana
Saina Nehwal achieved a sensational victory over reigning world champion Lu Lan of China to enter the final of the Singapore Open Super Series on Saturday.
Top seed Saina won 8-21 21-17 21-8 to set up a title clash with Tzu Ying Tai.
The victory put Saina in the second Super Series final of her career, after her victorious Indonesian Open campaign last year. Tai, meanwhile, beat Youn Joo Bae 21-16 21-18 in the other semifinal. The final is slated for Sunday. Fellow-Hyderabadi P Kashyap was close to matching Saina’s deed, but fell just short in the men’s singles semifinals against seventh seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia.
Making it to the final of a tournament of this magnitude is something any player would cherish. And with all other seeds knocked out, the odds certainly favour Saina. “They (the unseeded players) have beaten seeded players and have shown their prowess,” Saina told DNA. “Tzu is definitely not to be underestimated,” she added.
Saina has been in irrepressible, taking down dangerous players with a measure of ease. In the second round, she whipped Malaysian Wong Mew Choo before getting past Ella Diehl of Russia and Li Xuerui of China, all in straight games.
Against Lu Lan, though, Saina lost the first game in quick time, 21-8. The second was tight all the way, but after 17-all, the Indian stepped on the accelerator and closed it out. The third game was a washout as Saina jumped from 4-all to 10-5 and 21-8.
The victories over Xuerui and Lu Lan gave Saina her first victories over the Chinese after winning the Indonesian Open.
For the moment, Saina does not want to bother about the world rankings. “Most of the ranked players were off-colour. However, that does not bother me. I will give my best,” she said.
P Gopichand, Saina’s coach, gave due credit to his ward. “She played rallies against her aggressive opponent and that paid off.”
Meanwhile, P Kashyap was close to upsetting Sony Kuncoro. The Indian led all the way in the first game, but the Indonesian caught up at 17-all and edged ahead to win it 21-19. The second game was tighter and Kashyap even saved a match point. He, however, couldn’t save the second.
Results: Men’s Singles (SF): Sony DK (Ina) bt P Kashyap 21-19 22-20; 4-Boonsak Ponsana (Tha) bt 2-Peter Gade (Den) 20-22 21-17 21-16; Women’s Singles (SF): 1-Saina Nehwal (Ind) bt 4-Lu Lan (Chn) 8-21 21-17 21-8; Tzu Ying Tai (Tpe) bt Bae Youn Joo (Kor) 21-16 21-18.
Correction, June 20, 2010: Saina won the final game 21-8. The score in the second paragraph has been changed to reflect the correct result.
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