Saina Nehwal of India displays her gold medal after winning the women’s singles final against Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand at the Yonex-Sunrise India Open in New Delhi yesterday.
AFP/New Delhi
Saina Nehwal, badminton’s new world number one, trounced Thai challenger Ratchanok Intanon yersterday to win the India Open women’s singles on home turf.
Nehwal defeated Ratchanok 21-16, 21-14 in less than an hour in the final of the Super Series tournament in front of an adoring crowd packed into the Siri Fort stadium in New Delhi.
The 25-year-old Nehwal has already had a dream run this year after reaching the final of the prestigious All England Championship earlier this month where she lost to Spain’s Carolina Marin.
Nehwal became the world number one—the first Indian to do so—after she reached the semi-finals of the Indian Open tournament, although rankings are not formally announced by the Badminton World Federation until Thursday.
Another Indian shuttler, K Srikanth, won the men’s singles final in a keenly contested match against Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen.
Srikanth defeated Axelsen 18-21, 21-13 and 21-12 in a 55 minute encounter.
He had stormed into the final with a comfortable 21-16, 21-13 victory over China’s Xue Song in the semi-final on Saturday.
Earlier on Sunday, the Japanese duo of Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi defeated their Chinese challengers Luo Ying and Luo Yu 21-19 and 21-19 to win the women’s doubles final in a 81-minute encounter.
Two other Chinese pairs had a better day, routing their opponents in the mixed and men’s doubles finals.
Chai Biao and Hong Wei comfortably defeated Denmark’s Conrad Petersen and Mads Pieler Kolding 21-18 and 21-14 to take the men’s doubles title in 45 minutes.
China’s Liu Cheng and Bao Yixin downed Denmark’s Christinna Pedersen and Joachim Fischer Nielsen in the mixed doubles final, with a score of 21-19, 21-19 in 52 minutes.
