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Guwahati, February 16
Saina Nehwal beat PV Sindhu in straight games in the marquee clash of the tournament to retain her women’s singles crown at the 83rd Senior Badminton Nationals. Going for her fourth national title, Saina used her powerful smashes to telling effect, registering a 21-18 21-15 win in the summit clash against Sindhu, who is a two-time winner.
Earlier, Sourabh Verma completed a hat-trick of titles, claiming the men’s singles crown by defeating young Lakshya Sen in straight games. Saina and Verma went home richer by Rs 3.25 lakh while Sindhu and Sen received a cheque of Rs 1.70 lakh each. “It was a good match and both of us played really well and it is a great feeling to win the Nationals in such an atmosphere,” Saina, who has lost to Sindhu only once in international events, at the India Open 2017, said.
“Sindhu is playing at the highest level for quite some time. We both are playing well and she is a very tough opponent. There were tough rallies and simple errors from her helped me win,” she said.
In a repeat of last edition’s final in Nagpur, Saina once again had the upper hand over Sindhu during the exciting clash which was witnessed by a capacity crowed here. Saina had also defeated Sindhu at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games summit clash last year.
Saina’s unforced errors initially cost her three points but she smashed her way to make it 3-4 in the first game. Sindhu opened up a 7-5 lead but Saina managed to keep her nose ahead with an 11-10 lead at the break when Sindhu went wide. Saina continued to dictate the pace and took a 15-11 lead. A superb crosscourt smash and a net dribble gave Sindhu two points before she again hit long. With Saina leading 18-15, the match was stopped due to some problems with the indoor lighting.
On resumption, Sindhu reduced the deficit but Saina earned three game points with power-packed smashes, sealing the game with a smash after Sindhu saved one game point. At 3-3 in the second game, Saina found the net twice but she clawed back at 5-5. The 28-year-old eventually grabbed an 11-9 advantage. Errors continued to creep into Sindhu’s game as Saina sealed the contest without much ado.
Verma again
Verma, the 26-year-old from Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar, used his experience to outdo 17-year-old Sen for the second time at the senior National finals. He had beaten Sen, then 15, in February 2017. “Lakshya is improving continuously and every time you have to be alert against him. It was my fourth final and third win,” Verma said.
In men’s doubles, Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Chirag Shetty clinched the title after beating top seeds Arjun MR and Shlok Ramchandran 21-13 22-20 in 33 minutes.
Manu Attri and Maneesha K later beat top seeds Rohan Kapoor and Kuhoo Garg 18-21 21-17 21-16 to claim the mixed doubles crown. — PTI
4 National titles Saina has won. Sindhu has won two titles. This is the second time in a row that Saina beat Sindhu in the final of the Nationals
Head-to-head record
5-1 in favour of Saina
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