World Super Series final: Saina stuns former World No.1 Shixian, Srikanth wins opener too

Dubai Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal dished out a dominating performance to post a straightgame win over twotime All England Champion Shixian Wang of China and start her campaign on a positive note at the seasonending BWFs World Super Series badminton final here todayA 2011 finalist Saina showed great temperament and good repertoire of strokes to tame the former World No1 Shixian who had beaten the Indian four times in their last five meetingsThe China Open winner Saina prevailed 2117 2118 over Shixian in a gruelling womens singles match that lasted little less than an hour at the Hamdan Sports ComplexThe highestranked Indian male shuttler Srikanth thenhad a tough outing against Kento Momota of Japan but thesixthseeded player overturned a onegame deficit to win 15212116 2110Saina NehwalSrikanth 21 who was a year older than his Japaneseopponent started off lazily to lose the first game but soongot the gripIf the second game was fought hard then by the thirdSrikanth moved like a welloiled machine to dispatch theJapaneseBut it was Saina who started the day on a positive noteafter outplaying her former World No1 rival in little lessthan an hourComing into the match Saina held a 55 record against Shixian and kept the Chinese on a tight lease right from the start and the result was an intense battle of nervesThe intensity of the clash was palpable as Saina produced a fastpaced game and engaged Shixian in rallies which drained out the Chinese After a close fight till 77 Shixian picked up a couple of points at the deep backhand corner and forecourt of Saina to open up a slender 108 leadThe Indian however didnt panic and gave a brilliant account of her temperament and preparation as she reeled off 10 straight points to move to 1810Shixian grabbed three points before Saina produced an accurate smash which was initially called out but a video referral challenge ensured she got the crucial point Shixian then handed the game point chance to Saina when she hit wideThe Indian had a chance to close it next but she hit wide Shixian then produced a clever shot and exploited Sainas back hand to grab two more points Saina then handed over another point to Shixian when she made a judgement error at the baselineBut Shixian hit long next after an intense rally as Saina earned the bragging rightThe second game started on a similar note as the lead exchanged hands very frequently with both the players engaging in longer rallies and pushing the other to commit errorsThere was not much to differentiate between the two and it boiled down to accuracy in strokesAfter a slender 20 lead Saina saw Shixian surge ahead to 84 But egged on by the crowd who chanted Saina Saina and India India Saina erased the deficit and clawed back at 99 with Shixian finding the netSaina did miss a point after committing a service error but the Indian moved into the interval with her head held high leading 1110The Indian showed good anticipation and kept sending the shuttle back to her opponents court forcing Shixian to commit an error Her ploy reaped her dividends as Saina lead 1411 after a pointSaina pounced on each opportunity gaining points with her sharp net play and from the unforced errors committed by the Chinese As the match waned mistakes cropped in Shixians game as Saina lead 1814Shixian also played some immaculate shots to keep breathing down Sainas neck but the Indian soon hit a body smash and then produced a deceiving block at the net to move to a healthy fourmatch point advantageThe Chinese erased two match point after Saina tapped one wide and then failed to breach Shixians defence but with her cross court return getting buried at the nets it was celebration for the Indian