Saina Nehwal wins Indonesia Open 2012

Saina Nehwal of India defeated 4th seeded Xuerui Li of China in a pulsating final match of the women's singles event, to win the Djarum Indonesia Open 2012 badminton title for the third time in her career.

The Indonesia Open 2012 Super Series Premier badminton tournament is being held at Jakarta in Indonesia from 12th-17th June 2012.

Saina Nehwal vs. Xuerui Li  - Head to Head


Li Xuerui, Saina's opponent in the finals was ranked no.3 in the world, while Saina holds a current world ranking of no.5. Before today's encounter the two had played against each other 5 times, in which Saina had a dismal record of 1-4. To add to this Xuerui had not lost a single match since Jan-2012 winning 30 matches in a row with 4 consecutive titles wins. And those 30 straight wins were all against formidable opponents including 3 consecutive wins over world no.1 Yihan Wang.

On the other hand, there were some plus points for Saina too. One is she holds a fantastic record at the Indonesia Open super series badminton tournament, having won the title in 2009 and 2010, and the silver medal in 2011. She also gets good crowd support from the Indonesian badminton fans. To add to this she had reached to play at the Indonesia Open tournament fresh with a title win under her belt, having won the Thailand Open title just a week ago.

The final match
Given these track records, the final match promised much excitement for badminton fans worldwide, and they were not disappointed at all. While Xuerui Li won the first game 21-13, and looked all set to win the title, Saina fought back from the brink to win the second game 22-20 to bring the match on an even note once again. And then Saina controlled her nerves better in the last game 21-19 to pocket the Indonesia Open title once again in her career.

Saina Nehwal won the final match defeating Xuerui Li with a score of 13-21, 22-20, 21-19.

Earlier in the semi-finals of the Indonesia Open 2012, Saina had defeated world no.10 Ji Hyun Sung of Korea in straight sets, while in the men's singles P. Kashyap's dream run ended when he lost to world no.9 Simon Santoso of Indonesia. He will be participating in the Singapore Open tournament next.

Very creditable win for Saina
All the top 10 women badminton players in the world had participated at the Indonesia Open 2012 super series badminton tournament and were vying to win the title. Saina Nehwal's title win today amidst such tough competition should give much hope to Indian badminton fans who will be cheering for her and India, at the London Olympics that will soon be held in August.

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Saina and Kashyap storm into semi-finals of Indonesian Open 2012 badminton tournament

It was another great day for India at the Indonesian Open-2012 Super Series Premier badminton tournament, with Saina Nehwal and P.Kashyap of India giving Indian badminton fans a lot of cheer about as they stormed into the semi-finals of the prestigious tourney.

World no.5 Saina Nehwal defeated arch rival and world no.4 Shixian Wang of China in a hard fought match by a score of 21-17 21-23 21-19. With this win, Saina improved her career record against Shixian Wang taking it to 3 wins compared to 1 loss against her Chinese opponent.

Saina will next be playing against world no.10 Sung Ji Hyun of Korea who defeated 2nd seeded and world no.2 Xin Wang of China. Saina has a career record of 3-0 against Sung Ji Hyun, however the two haven't had a chance to play against each other since the last 1 year.

Meanwhile there was even more to cheer about for the Indian fans in the men's singles as P.Kashyap of India who had stunned top seed and world no.3 Chen Long of China in the 2nd round, continued with his dream run at the Djarum Indonesia Open-2012 badminton tournament and overcame the challenge of Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark defeating him 21-15 21-14.

With this result Kashyap has now reached the semi-finals of the Indonesian open, and he will next be playing against world no.9 Simon Santoso of Indonesia. Simon holds a career head to head record of 3-0 against Kashyap, and he is also likely to have the added advantage of getting the home support from the local crowd, however Kashyap seems to be in great form and the match will be interesting to watch.


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P.Kashyap shines at Indonesian Open-2012.

P. Kashyap shines at Indonesian Open-2012

World no.26 Parupalli Kashyap of India came up with one of the most remarkable performances of his badminton career as he defeated world no.3 and top seed Chen Long of China in the 2nd round of the men's singles at the ongoing Djarum Indonesia Open-2012 badminton tournament that is being held at Jakarta in Indonesia.
P.Kashyap overcame the challenge of Chen Long in two straight games defeating him by a score of 21-17 21-14.

The challenge of the other Indian badminton players in the men's singles event, Ajay Jayaram and Sourabh Verma came to an end, with Ajay losing in the 2nd round and Sourabh losing in the first.

Meanwhile in the women's singles event, Saina Nehwal had to struggle to get past qualifier Aprilla   Yuswandari of Indonesia in the second round. Saina defeated Aprilla 21-17 14-21 21-13 in three games. In the first round of the Indonesia Open-2012, Saina had defeated Sayaka Sato of Japan 21-12 14-21 21-17.

Saina now faces the tough challenge from World no.3 Shixian Wang of China in the next round of the Indonesian open.

The other Indian girl in the fray in the women's singles, P.V. Sindhu lost against experienced world no.7 player Juliane Schenk of Denmark in the second round. Sindhu lost by a score of 14-21, 14-21.

Saina Nehwal wins Thailand Open-2012

Saina Nehwal of India overcame the strong challenge of second seeded Thai girl Ratchanok Inthanon in the finals of the SCG Thailand Open -2012 badminton tournament to clinch the title. The tournament was held at Bangkok in Thailand from 05-June to 10-June-2012.

World No.5 and top seeded Saina Nehwal survived an early scare against world no.11 Ratchanok Inthanon as she lost the first game 19-21. However Saina bounced back quite strongly to win the next two games 21-15 and 21-10 dashing all local hopes and winning the crown.

Earlier in the semi-finals of the Thailand Open, Saina Nehwal had defeated world no.17 and 3rd seeded Porntip Buranaprasertuk of Thailand in straight sets to storm into the finals of this badminton tournament.

Saina had done well to win the Swiss Open title earlier this year but after that had faltered at home as she lost in the second round of the Indian Open-2012 tournament. However she seems to have regained her form with this title win at the Thailand Open-2012. Also this title win comes at an important juncture in view of the forhcoming London 2012 Olympics that is going to be held soon in a couple of months.

However there are other challenges coming up sooner than the Olympics. Immediately next in line is a very tough tournament, the 'Djarum Indonesia Open 2012' which will be held in Indonesia, Jakarta from 12-17 June-2012. All the top Chinese players are expected to participate there and 5th seeded Saina is drawn to play against world no.15 Sayaka Sato of Japan in the first round.

Let's see whether Saina will be able to leverage the momentum obtained from the Thailand Open-2012 title win, and recreate the magic of yesteryears at her favourite hunting ground, Indonesia.



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Saina Nehwal in finals of Thailand Open-2012

Saina Nehwal in Thailand Open finals

Saina Nehwal of India has stormed into the finals of the SCG Thailand Open 2012 badminton tournament that is being held at Bangkok in Thailand from 05-June to 10-June-2012.

In the semi-finals top seeded world No.5 Saina Nehwal defeated world no.17 and 3rd seed Porntip Buranaprasertuk of Thailand in straight sets 24-22 21-11. Saina will now face the challenge of 2nd seed and world no.11 Ratchanok Inthanon of Thailand in the finals of this Thai Open tournament.

After winning the Swiss Open title earlier this year, Saina made an early exit at the Yonex Sunrise Indian Open-2012 losing in the second round. Hence a title performance at this tournament should stand her in good stead and work as a morale booster in view the forthcoming London Olympics that will be held soon in a couple of months.

The other Indian girl in the fray at the SCG Thailand Open-2012, P.V. Sindhu had earlier lost in the second round of the tournament against Chinese opponent and former world champion Lin Wang.
P.V.Sindhu has fast climbed the world ranking ladder lately and is currently ranked No.26 in the world. She is still young and hopefully as she gains more experience, she could soon become a force to reckon amongst the world's top 10 women badminton players.