Saina Nehwal was given a dose of her own medicine in the
final of the French Super Series badminton tournament when the world number
three came against an inspired opponent who was willing to retrieve every shuttle
that came her way and forced the favourite to commit mistakes.
Japanese Minatsu Mitani, who was playing her first Super Series
final, came up with a performance that reduced Saina into a mere spectator
for the last 10 points as she won 21-19, 21-11 to become the first player from
the country to win a Super Series title.
Mitani, who had lost to Saina in the second round of the
Denmark Super Series premier last week, had accounted for sixth seed Jiang
Yanjiao of China in the opening round and in the final proved that none of her
victories over higher ranked opponents, enroute to the summit clash, were
flukes.
The world number 26 showed exceptional court coverage to
nullify Saina’s booming smashes and every time the rallies prolonged came up
with either a cross court drop shot or a down the line smash from unexpected
angles to catch the top seed out of position.
It only ended up frustrating Saina, who made a flurry of
errors in the second game to hand the title to Mitani.
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