Published>Thu, Jun 24 10 04:48 AM
Saina Nehwal started her title defence at the Indonesian Open Super Series with a win, fighting off the stubborn challenge mounted by upcoming Korean shuttler Ji Hyun Sung in the opening round 22-20 17-21 21-14 at Jakarta on Wednesday.
With her ranking expected to dent China's Top 5 monopoly on Thursday, Nehwal, currently World No 6, beat back the Korean's offensive for an hour before advancing to the second round. She runs into Petya Nedelcheva next, the Bulgarian never short on firepower or aggressive intent, though she's currently been struggling with injuries galore.
Against the Korean, though, it was the top-seeded Indian who struggled to close out her opponent within straight sets after claiming the opening game 22-20 relying on her experience. More than a third of her winners came from smashes, as she pulled away from 20-20 in the opener.
But she dropped the next set at 17. In the decider, Nehwal broke away after a 4-point run early on, and was unchallenged after 3-all, to stay ahead and march to a finish.
For the men, good news came in the form of RMV Guru Sai Dutt, who is fast shooting up in frame and performances alike, as he beat Yan Kit Chan of Hong Kong 21-18 21-13. It was 20-year old Guru's flurry of smashes which shut out his first-round opponent in 32 minutes, the Hyderabadi sending down 24 in contrast to the Hong Kong boy's 11.
P Kashyap, playing second seed Taufik Hidayat, started well, before the Indonesian wrested control and won the 65-minute encounter 12-21 21-19 21-16. India's leading challenger Chetan Anand, however, disappointed, going down to familiar foe Wing Ki Wong, tamely losing his first round match 21-15 21-9.
Source: Web Search
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