Backed by a roaring audience that proclaimed the former World No.1 as the “Queen of Indian badminton’’, Saina Nehwal overcame a lethargic start to win a thriller against Michelle Li 6-15, 15-13, 15-13 and seal the tie for Awadhe Warriors with an unbeatable 4-0 lead against North Eastern Warriors in the Vodafone Premier Badminton League at the Siri Fort Sports Complex on Saturday.
The fans had assembled in strength to see Saina, who had won the World Championship bronze this season and has had some good memories at the venue. The anxiety of the fans was more after Saina had skipped the first tie, in which she was pitted to play against Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu.
The slow start when she struggled to win the first point, and did so after dropping five, and the fact that it went to pretty close in the second game, brought the crowd alive.
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Like a diesel engine that starts slow but accelerates with time, Saina stepped up her game and lunged for everything that her talented opponent threw at her, even though she was not quick on her feet.
Saina stayed calm despite the struggle and concentrated hard to win the key points.
Michelle Li, athletic and deft with her strokes, could not handle the crunch as brilliantly as Saina did and erred, hitting it wide on match point. Saina celebrated with a clenched fist and letting out a war cry.
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A string of stinging smashes down the line had kept Saina afloat and the hopes of the adoring fans alive, after she had lost the first game in 10 minutes.
Earlier, the mixed doubles pair of Christinna Pedersen and Tang Chun Man, marked as the trump for the team, edged past Prajakta Sawant and Kim Gi Jung, to give a strong start for Awadhe.
The two points from the match was a strong cushion for P. Kashyap, a former world No.6 and the quarterfinalist of the London Olympics, to unleash his A-game to scotch the hopes of Ajay Jayaram in straight games.
It was the second victory for Awadhe and the welcome points should power it to the top of the table, as it had already taken its tally to eight points, with two more rubbers to go, one of which featuring K. Srikkanth, the star of the season.
The results: Awadhe Warriors leads North Eastern Warriors 4-0 (Christinna Pedersen & Tang Chun Man bt Prajakta Sawant & Kim Gi Jung 15-14, 15-13; Parupalli Kashyap bt Ajay Jayaram 15-9, 15-12; Saina Nehwal bt Michelle Li 6-15, 15-13, 15-13).
Friday’s results: Ahmedabad Smash Masters bt Hyderabad Hunters 4-3 (Kamilla Rytter Juhl & Lee Chun Hei Reginald bt Pia Zebadiah Bernadet & Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy 4-15, 15-12, 15-8; Sourabh Verma lost to Lee Hyun Il 9-15, 11-15; Tai Tzu-Ying bt Rasika Raje 15-5, 15-6; (T) H.S. Prannoy bt Sai Praneeth 15-10, 15-8; Kidambi Nandagopal & Lee Chun Wei Reginald lost to (T) Markis Kido & Yoo Yeon Seong 14-15,11-15).