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Journalism of Courage
Saina Nehwal showed no emotion in her first game of her opening match against Yip Pui Yin. Not when the Hong Kong shuttler connected with her smashes. Nor when she did the same. In the first game at 20-14,a line call could have gone either way. But when the call went Sainas way,she held back any sign of celebration. Clearly Saina was showing some caution after the memories of last years India Open,where she suffered a shock first round exit against Japanese Ai Goto. But even as she secured her hold on the contest in the second game,Sainas expressions became more emphatic.
Leading 5-3,a fist-pump followed a rally that she finished off with a cross court drop shot. At 16-6 she was wrong-footed by Yips drop shot and was stranded at the net. Scrambling back to the centre court she fought back and won the point with a powerful smash down the line. Perhaps the knowledge that she was just four points from victory elicited a grin.
Things were made much easier than they should have been by Yip,who conceded the initiative right from the start with a series of unforced errors. Despite her side of the court having the wind behind her,she was unable to control the advantage,sending shots into the net or wide. Saina too played cautiously unwilling to concede negatives.
In the first game I didnt want to take too many risks. The court was also very fast from her end in the first game,so a lot of shots that I hit went wide. I settled into rallies and waited for the opportunities. When I smashed I made sure that I could finish the point, said Saina.
Once the ends changed,it was Saina who had the advantage,and as she grew in confidence,the match was rather rapidly put out of Yips reach.
Saina now faces a sterner challenge . Her second round match will be against Bae Youn Joo of Korea. She likes to rally so there is going to be a lot of running around for me,sighed Saina.
Sindhu,Neha advance
Joining Saina in the second round albeit in the other half of the draw were PV Sindhu and Neha Pandit,who upset players ranked higher than them. Itwill be the first time that either of them has advanced to this stage of a Super Series event. Sindhu toppled World No 13 Tzu Ying Tai of Taipei 21-17 21-19,while Pandit,ranked 128 in the world got the better of 63 ranked Jing Yi Tee of Malaysia 21-18 9-21 21-19.
Jwala loses,Ashwini wins
There were contrasting results for womens doubles players Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa in the mixed doubles event. Ashwini alongside Tarun Kona beat Muhammad Rijal and Debby Susanto 20-22 21-18 22-20. Jwala Gutta and V Diju,however,lost 21-18 21-19 to Tao Jiaming and Xia Huan of China.
