New Delhi: A rousing welcome was accorded to ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal after she completed a spectacular hat-trick of titles by clinching the Indonesia Open Super Series with a three-game triumph over Japan’s Sayaka Sato on Sunday last. The reception comes in the wake of her criticism that she is more popular in Indonesia and Malaysia than in her own country.
On arrival back in the country, Saina, told reporters that she would work even harder to win the World Championship, Commonwealth Games and Asian Games.
‘When I can become world number 3, I can also become world number 1 but would not push myself so fast and would like to work hard on the coming tournaments.”
‘I am quite happy that I have reached number three spot. But it is important for me to work hard and win tournaments rather than focus on rankings,’ she said.
‘After winning three tournaments in a row, the confidence level has gone up. For me it is important to stay focused and keep working hard the same way, play selective tournaments so that I can stay injury free and play well in these tournaments,’ said a proud Saina while displaying her medals.
Unbeaten for the past three weeks, the top seeded defending champion defeated her unseeded but resolute rival 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 in a rollercoaster encounter that lasted 45 minutes.
This was Saina’s third successive title, having won the Indian Open Grand Prix at home and the Singapore Open Super Series Tournament last week. This is also the 20-year-old world number three’s third Super Series title overall.
In a see-saw battle, the 19-year-old Sato matched the defending champion shot for shot for most part of the opening game but was undone by her own mistakes at crucial junctures.
The first game that lasted 14 minutes had both the players tied 11-11 at one stage and though Saina remained ahead for most part after that, a gritty Sato did have her share of chances.
Leading 20-18, Saina could have finished it off on her own serve but she handed Sato a chance by hitting the shuttle wide.
But Sato could not capitalise and smacked a forehand into the net to give Saina the opening game.
The second game saw Sato making a comeback with the change of ends also leading to a change in fortunes. The Japanese proved to be the more dominant of the two players in these 15 minutes as she raced to a 4-9 lead.
Sato sent down some powerful shots from the baseline and Saina could only watch as they fell out of her range. The frustration of being out-witted by a rival ranked 26th in the world showed when Saina clinched her fist at one of Sato’s unforced errors.
Shaken by the setback, Saina roared back in the decisive third game. The Indian took a comprehensive 11-5 lead but continuing her never-say-die attitude, Sato reduced the margin to 9-13.
The Indian, however, was in no mood to slip up and emerged triumphant after reeling off four successive points.
A jubilant Saina let out a huge scream after winning the title, which also made her richer by $18,750.
Earlier, Saina had clinched the second Super Series title of her career by winning the Singapore Open with a straight-game triumph over qualifier Tzu Ying Tai in the finals on Sunday.
Top seed Saina took just 33 minutes to beat Chinese Taipei’s Tai 21-18 21-15 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium, according to media reports.
