Jakarta Queen: Saina Nehwal

Last year, the Indonesians cheered for her because she vanquished the dreaded Chinese.

This year, they treated her as one of their own. And they would gladly give her Indonesian citizenship for they haven’t had a real champion since Mia Audina ten years ago. What’s more, Audina ditched them by accepting Dutch citizenship.

Saina Nehwal has a deep and strong relationship with the emotional heartland of badminton. She had been to camps in Jakarta during her junior days. And she finally came of age last year by winning the coveted Indonesian Open Super Series.

On Sunday, her victory in the final was not just a defence of her title — it also completed a hat-trick of majors. Saina Nehwal has had an unbeaten run of 15 matches, during which she won the India Open GP Gold, the Singapore Open Super Series, and the Indonesia Open Super Series.

The hat-trick came after she outclassed a surprisingly feisty opponent in Sayaka Sato — the same girl she had beaten for her World Junior title in Pune in November 2008. But Sato, like Saina, has evolved since that mauling she received — and Sunday saw her trouble Saina with a rich mix of strokes until the Indian ground her out in three sets.

“She was a difficult player,” Saina said. “This time she came up with some different strokes. In the first game, I was catching the shuttle high, but in the second she got more smashes in as I had to lift the shuttle.” Saina went in as the clear favourite, for Sato’s career has not progressed at the same rate as the Indian. “I had told her Sato would attack and push the pace,” Saina’s coach P Gopichand said.

Saina’s power told early as she established a 10-5 lead, but Sato took five points in a row and it turned into a tight battle. The left-hander’s clips from the back, and her dexterity at the net, were causing problems — and as the TV commentator appropriately put it: “Sato is like an annoying wasp — she will not go away. She’s persistent.”

Saina managed to edge through for the first game, but the second was a different story as she suddenly began to look vulnerable.

Sato was opening up spaces in the forecourt with her half-smashes and deceptive clips that left Saina scrambling.

Midway through it looked like all the hard work of the last month was taking its toll, and Saina seemed to be conserving her energy for the third. The strategy paid off, and the Indian turned on her power game, while Sato didn’t help her own cause by using the high serve that went long. There was a sense of inevitability as Saina notched up one point after another, until finally sealing the win.

 “There has been a natural progression,” said Gopi. “She has improved in every department - strokes, fitness. She’s more confident now, more mature. We’ve kept it simple — use your brains, and work hard.”

ALL RESULTS (FINAL): Men’s Singles: L Wei (Mas) bt T Hidayat (Ina) 21-19 21-8; Women’s Singles: S Nehwal (Ind) bt S Sato (Jap) 21-19 13-21 21-11; Men’s Doubles Fang CM (Tpe)/Lee SM (Tpe) bt Gun Woo (Kor)/Goo Kwon (Kor) 21-16 21-15; Women’s Doubles: Kim MJ (Kor)/Lee HJ (Kor) bt Cheng WH (Tpe)/C Chin (Tpe) 21-12 12-21 21-11; Mixed Doubles: R Mateusiak (Pol)/N Zieba (Pol) bt H Setiawan (Ina)/A Russkikh (Rus) 21-18 22-20