Indian ace shuttler Saina Nehwal beat China's world number three Wang Lin to become the first Indian to win a super series badminton tournament with victory in the Indonesian Open Sunday
Indian ace shuttler Saina Nehwal beat China's world number three Wang Lin to become the first Indian to win a super series badminton tournament with victory in the Indonesian Open Sunday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Nehwal took the women's singles crown by beating Wang 12-21, 21-18, 21-9 to take the title and the 18,750-dollar prize.
"This is great... I never expected to win," said Nehwal, who is ranked eighth in the world and was seeded sixth in the tournament.
Nehwal capitalised on Wang's fatigue and wavering confidence in the final set after outlasting her counterpart in the longer rallies, sealing the match with a powerful jumping smash in front of a 7,000-strong crowd.
In the men's singles, Malaysian shuttler Lee Chong Wei lived up to his world number one title, beating Indonesia's celebrated Taufik Hidayat in straight sets 21-9, 21-14.
"I'm very happy that I won. Before the match, I thought our chances were 50-50 but I stayed focused during the game," said Lee, who won the title in 2007.
Lee said Hidayat made several mistakes during the 38-minute fast-paced match, which was peppered with smashes and drop shots.
"His smashes were out. My defence was good. My next target is to win the world title," the 2008 Beijing Olympic silver medallist added.
The fifth-seeded Hidayat said he had put in "maximum" effort in the tournament.
"To me, the game was perfect. I'd given my maximum but Lee Chong Wei was far better. He was able to return all my shots... and I lost," he added.
In March, Lee scored back-to-back victories over Hidayat, defeating the former world champion in the All England semi-finals and the Swiss Open Super Series quarter-finals.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
