Super Saina wins comfortably; through to quarter-finals

Saina Nehwal of India returns a shot against Lianne Tan of Belgium during their Women?s Singles Badminton during Badminton match on Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Wembley Arena on July 30, 2012 in London, England. 

Saina Nehwal, having spoken of the immense pressure with all eyes on her, went into her round-of-16 game as a firm favourite. Seeded 4th, she would be taking on 35 year-old Jie Yao of the Netherlands, seeded 14th. Jie Yao, albeit progressing from the relatively easy group F, had won both her matches fairly easily, just like her Indian opponent.

First game

It was neck-and-neck at the start, both shuttlers easing into the game, with Saina having a single point lead at 4-3. Saina seemed to settle in quicker though, and extended that lead, holding serve well, to 6-4. The Hyderabadi shuttler then went into overdrive, playing impeccable badminton, shunting her opponent out of the game, to take a comfortable six point lead into the break at 11-5. There was no respite for Yao post the break either, Saina extending her lead at 15-7.  Saina comtinued to press her advantage, quickly racing to game point at 20-10. Yao displayed a resistance of sorts, reeling off 4 points in a row, before Saina broke through, taking the game 21-14.

Second game

The second game began with a break-of-serve each, but Saina began to pull ahead immediately, reaching a 5-1 lead. Yao soon pulled herself together, winning 5 straight points, to lead for the first time in the second game at 5-6. Saina recovered quickly, pegging her opponent back, to retake the lead at 8-6. Strong service-play saw Saina reach the break with a cushy four point lead, score at 11-7. Both players struggled to hold serve post-break, the score inching slowly to 14-11. Breaks of serve continued to rule the roost, neither player able to string together more than 2 points in a row, the score moving to 17-13. This, however, meant that there were no stutters to Saina’s campaign, as she soon reached match point at 20-15. Not surprisingly, another couple of breaks of serve saw Saina take home the match, the game finishing 21-16.

The win books Saina’s berth in the quarter-finals of the world’s grandest event, where she will take on either Denmark’s fifth seeded Tine Baun, or Japan’s twelfth seeded Sayaka Sato. In the kind of form Saina has been, we fully expect her to go the distance and claim Gold for India. All the best, Saina!

 

Result: Saina Nehwal (IND) bt Jie Yao (NED) 21-14  21-16