Saina slays Sindhu to even scores

MUMBAI: Living up to her form and reputation World No. 4 Saina Nehwal outclassed the No. 10 PV Sindhu with ease to draw parity for Hyderabad Hotshots against the Awadhe Warriors in the first Indian Badminton League final at the NSCI's Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium on Saturday evening.
The short but solid Saina simply proved too much to be challenged for the taller Sindhu as she walked away with the women's singles match winning 21-15, 21-7. A smiling and modest Saina soon after the match said, "I'm very happy that I pulled it off."
Saina's win saw the Hotshots level the tie at 1-1 after K Srikanth drew first blood for the Warriors defeating Thai Thai Tanongsak Saemsomboonsuk 21-12, 21-20 in the opening men's singles.
Sindhu couldn't raise her level of play perhaps being overcome by the occasion. The brief period where the Warriors player gained was in the opening game where Saina erred at the net and made a few erroneous line judgements. Saina held her own as a champion smashing anything that was half court and pushing Sindhu back in deception. Nothing seemed to work for Sindhu on this day and her good backhand wasn't seen at its best.
While the marquee clash failed to live up to the expectations, it was the 20-year-old K Srikanth who stole the show with a super display of his talent.
Srikanth, who won the Thailand Open this June, displayed superb court-craft and came up with jumping smashes which were too hot to handle for Tanongsak much to the delight of the boisterous close to 5,000 strong crowd.
Tanongsak had been unbeaten in the tournament, but Srikanth left him clueless this time with his aggression as he ran away with the first game.
Tanongsak was looking clueless in the second game too trailing 5-13 at one stage. An excited Srikanth then lost his concentration allowing his opponent to claw back. The two players had a game point each in the end but Srikanth's determination saw him through.
A fight till the end may see this match decide for the eventual first IBL winner.