09 May,2011 08:58 AM IST | | Harit N Joshi
Indian ace fails to win Malaysian Open, but still pleases her parents with a gutsy performance in the final
Saina Nehwal was keen to give a special gift to her mum Usha Rani on Mother's Day by winning the Malaysian Open Grand Prix Gold badminton title.
Though she didn't win the title in spite of putting up a tough fight, Saina's performance managed to win her parents' hearts.
OOPS! Saina Nehwal
The World No 4, playing with a taped ankle, lost 21-13, 8-21, 14-21 in a 48-minute contest against her second-seeded rival and World No 3 Xin Wang of China, who got the better of the Indian for the third time yesterday.
"She made Father's Day special by winning the Singapore Open last year. She was keen to win it (Malaysian Open) for her mother this time. She might be upset with the result, but we are not disappointed. It wasn't a bad performance at all. She played her heart out," Harvir Singh, Saina's father, told MiD DAY from Hyderabad yesterday.u00a0
Saina raced to a 7-3 lead before winning the first game convincingly. Then, Xin came back strongly in the second game.
The decider was fiercely contested with both players going neck and neck.
Xin led to 12-8 before Saina fought back to level the scores at 13-13. But Asian Games gold medallist Xin stepped up her game and logged seven successive points from 14-14 to win the title.
"It is not an excuse, but Xin was coming fresh into the tournament while Saina was going into the tournament immediately after the Indian Open Super Series (last week)," said Singh, a former Haryana state badminton champion. Saina's mother also has a few titles to her name.
Harvir, a scientist at the Directorate of Oilseeds Research in Hyderabad, said that Saina was a bit low on stamina in the match.u00a0 "She looked a bit tired in the last game," he said before getting philosophical, "Someone has to win or lose. Unfortunately, this time she ended up on the losing side. Saina is a fighter. She will definitely beat Xin when they meet next."
