French Open: Saina made to work hard by Han

World number four Saina Nehwal was given a wake-up call in the opening round of the French Super Series badminton tournament on Wednesday when the top seed was stretched for almost an hour by unheralded Li Han of China in the women’s singles first round encounter.

Saina, who is chasing back-to-back Super Series titles after winning the Denmark Open last week, managed to overpower the Chinese, who is currently ranked 19 places below the Indian, 21-11, 16-21, 21-19 in 59 minutes and will now face Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand in the second round.

Saina looked like bulldozing through the first round encounter when she controlled the pace of the match in the first game but the Chinese came back strongly in the second and her superiority in the net exchanges added to the pressure on the London Olympics bronze medallist.

In the other matches, Ajay Jayaram defeated Suppanyu Avihingsanon of Thailand 21-16, 21-17 in the men’s singles first round. He will now face third seed Peter Gade of Denmark for a place in the quarterfinals.

However, the challenge of Sourabh Verma came to an end in the opening round when he went down against Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia 22-20, 21-16 for the second successive time. The duo had met in the second round of the Denmark Open last week and the Indonesian had come up triumph in two straight games.

Refreshed Saina makes Premier return in Denmark

If there was any question mark on Saina’s match preparedness after taking over a month’s break from competitive badminton since winning the London Olympics bronze medal in August, the world number four gave an emphatic reply by winning the women’s singles title at the Denmark Super Series Premier without dropping a game in the entire tournament.
The third seed went into the tournament admitting that she wasn’t expecting much from the tournament since she was returning from a break and a knee injury. But the Bharat Petroleum employee, who recently signed Rs 40 crore deal for three years, showed no signs of rustiness or injury throughout the tournament.
In fact, it was her opponents who looked battle weary and it was no different against Juliane Schenk of Germany in the final. The German is known for her ability to push the physical limits of the opponent but in the final she was clearly no match to Saina’s pace and guile as the Indian bagged her second Premier level title of the year with a 21-17, 21-8 victory in just 34 minutes.
The title triumph also means that Saina became only the second Indian to win a Danish Open title after Prakash Padukone, who achieved the feat back in 1979. Saina now has 16 international titles to her name which includes six super series crowns.
Just before the start of the match a fire alarm went off and delayed the proceedings by a few minutes till the announcer made it clear that it was a false alarm. The final was played on similar lines with Schenk creating a false impression that she was up for a fight by making a comeback on a couple of occasions in the first game.
But the German never really looked threatening or had the energy to launch a full blown attack and simply caved in after the change of end. Saina simply had to keep the shuttle in play in the second half of the game and Schenk gifted points through unforced errors and did not even attempt to return the Indian serve on match point.
Later, Saina admitted that she did not expect much from this tournament and was happy that she could play at her best here. “There were a lot of felicitations and other functions after the Olympics. My right knee was also not in prime condition and hence I was not expecting much. But I am thankful to god and all the supporters here who stood behind me.”
Saina will now head to the French Super Series where she is the top seed.

Saina in Denmark Open final

A Chinese opponent conceded a match against Saina Nehwal for the second successive time as the world number four Indian stayed on course for her maiden Denmark Super Series title.

Saina, who bagged the London Olympic bronze medallist when Xin Wang conceded the bronze medal play off, went through the final after world champion and top seed Yihan Wang had to conceded their semifinal encounter due to a knee injury.

Saina, who had lost her earlier six encounters against the world champion, took time to find her rhythm but once the world number four hit her strides it was difficult for Yihan to match her opponent’s pace with a suspect knee.

She finally gave up the fight trailing 21-12, 12-7 at the half an hour mark and cleared Saina’s passage to the final.

The third seed will now take on Germany’s Juliane Schenk, who defeated China’s Yanjiao Jiang 13-21, 21-14, 21-15.

Saina sends Baun packing to reach maiden Denmark Open semifinal

Saina Nehwal made short work of an error-prone Tine Baun to end the local favourites hope of leaving a mark in what will be her final Denmark Super Series appearance in Odense on Friday.

Baun, a two-time All England champion, could not contain her frustration during the quarterfinal against the world number four Indian as she made many uncharecteristic errors and bowed out 21-10, 21-11 in just 33 minutes.

The Bharat Petroleum employee, who is playing in her first tournament since winning the bronze medal in the London Olympics, would now face top seed Yihan Wang of China in what would be a repeat of the last four clash in London a few months ago.

World champion Wang got the better of Korean seventh seed Ji Jyun Sung 21-13, 16-21, 21-8 in just under an hour but will face a lot fresher Saina in the semifinal.

Apart from a few points in which Baun showed glimpses of why she was once the biggest challenger to the Chinese hegemony, Saina was always in control of the match and eased into her maiden semifinal of the Denmark Open when Baun sent a regulation defensive stroke in the net.

But to get to the final, Saina will have to beat an opponent she hasn’t managed to get the better of in their six previous encounters.

Best of luck Saina.

Saina in Danish Open quarters; Verma ousted

Saina Nehwal stormed into the quarterfinals of the Denmark Super Series with a convincing 21-15, 21-14 victory over Minatsu Mitani of Japan in the women's singles second round on Thursday.
The second round encounter between the third seed and her less fancied opponent had a bizarre start with the Japanese taking the first 15 points and then Saina bouncing back with 21 consecutive points to pocket the first game 21-15.
The most interesting fact about the entire game was that all the points were scored by smash winners as both players struggled to keep the rally going for a longer period.
The second game was far too moderate in comparison to the first, with Saina never letting go the advantage she got in the first few exchanges. The rallies were always smaller and it was the Indians better control at the net that made the ultimate difference. She will now face the winner of the match between local favourite Tine Baun and qualifier Lok Yan Poon of Hong Kong.
While Saina took her expected position in the quarterfinals, India's challenge in the men's singles came to an end when Sourabh Verma went down against Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro 21-19, 21-17 in the second round.

Verma packs off Gade in his last Denmark Open

Sourabh Verma put behind his disappointing performance in the Senior Nationals in style when he shattered the local hopes by packing off local favourite and sixth seed Peter Gade in the very first round of the Denmark Super Series badminton tournament in Odense on Wednesday night.
Former world number one Gade has already announced that this would be his last year on the circuit and was hoping to give the home crowd a reason to celebrate in what would be his final appearance in the Danish Open.
But that was not to be. Verma showed the patience to engage the veteran shuttler in long rallies and was prepared to wait for his opportunities. The tactic caught Gade by surprises as the Indian raced to a 5-0 lead in the first game and never looked back after that to win 21-18, 21-14 in just 42 minutes.
This was the first tournament for Verma after losing in the second round of the Senior National badminton tournament last month, where he was defending the crown.
The additional period was spent well on preparing for the Danish Open and the results were there for everyone to see.
While Verma advanced to the second round and will face Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia, Nationals finalist Ajay Jayaram went down 19-21, 21-8, 21-9 against seventh seed Pengyu Du of China in the first round.

Saina makes a winning return in Denmark Super Series

London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal shrugged off any suggestions of rustiness to beat South Korea's Yeon Ju Bae 21-17, 21-17 to move into the women's singles second round of the Denmark Super Series badminton tournament.
The world number four, who had not played any tournament since her London exploits, needed some time to settle down as the Korean took a 7-4 lead in the first game. But Saina quickly drew level and had enough fuel to pull away in the business end of the first game.
The Bharat Petroleum employee was always in command in the second and would now face Japan's Minatsu Mitani. The Indian ace enjoys a 2-0 head-to-head record and would be considered a favourite for a berth in the quarterfinals.
In the day's other matches, Anand Pawar came up with a spirited performance against fifth seed Sho Sasaki of Japan before going down 14-21, 21-15, 21-11 in the men's singles first round.
Men's doubles pair of Arun Vishnu and K Tarun and mixed combination of Tarun and Ashwini Ponnappa were knocked out in the first round itself.