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Kidambi Srikanth, Saina Nehwal’s efforts in vain as Awadhe Warriors lose
Despite victories from Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal, Awadhe Warriors went on to lose against Mumbai Rockets in Premier Badminton League.
On a day when world No 3 Kidambi Srikanth and No 10 Saina Nehwal notched up wins for Awadhe Warriors in the Premier Badminton League here, Mumbai Rockets scored a 4-1 win over the local franchise to keep their hopes alive for a berth in the knock-out.
Srikanth and Saina had lost their matches against Ahmedabad Masters here a couple of days back though the team scored a thrilling 4-3 win at the UP Badminton Academy.
On Thursday, Saina pulled off a 8-15, 15-10, 15-13 win against world No 11 Beiwen Zhang of USA while Srikanth got the better of world No 5 Son Wan Ho 13-15, 15-13, 15-4 to put the team back on track after the Warriors not only lost their ‘trump match’, but also the first men’s singles.
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The duo of Lee Yong Dae and Tan Boon Heong played superbly in the ‘trump match’ and beat Hendra Setiawan and Or Chin Chung 15-13, 15-12 to fashion Mumbai’s 4-1 win. A loss could have helped the Warriors win.
Saina, coming into the match at the back of a defeat to world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying, was no match to Beiwen in the opening game. The US shuttler used the length of the court perfectly, teasing the Indian with her superb cross-court drops and smashes and raced to victory in no time.
But Saina got back into the match and even though Beiwen was leading in the initial phase of the second game, the Indian slowly turned the tide and went into the break leading 8-7. She did not allow Beiwen a chance post-interval and wrapped up the game to restore parity.
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In the final game, Saina was in no mood to let go and brought her experience into play.
Srikanth lost the first game by just two points. But after a change in ends, the ace Indian didn’t look back. In the decider, Srikanth didn’t allow Son any room and wrapped up the match, conceding just four points.
Earlier in the day, Sameer Verma picked up a comfortable 15-6, 15-14 victory against debutant Harshit Aggarwal to give Mumbai Rockets a 2 (-1) lead over Warriors in the five-match duel.
Replacing P Kashyap in the line-up, Harshit could not challenge the senior pro and went down meekly in the opening game. He did try to make a comeback in the second game and even took the game to the wire, but Sameer sealed the match with a smash.
In the first match of the day, the mixed doubles pair of Lee Yong Dae and Gabriela Stoeva pulled off an upset by beating Christinna Pedersen and Tang Chun Man 15-10, 14-15, 15-7 to give Mumbai the early lead. The match also saw the Warriors getting penalised as it was their ‘trump match’.
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RESULTS
Mixed doubles: Gabriela Stoeva-Lee Yong Dae bt Christinna Pedersen-Tang Chun Man 15-10, 14-15, 15-7.
Men’s singles: Sameer Verma bt Harshit Aggarwal 15-6, 15-14.
Women’s singles: Beiwen Zhang lost to Saina Nehwal 15-8, 10-15, 13-15.
Men’s singles: Son Wan Hoth lost to Kidambi Srikanth 15-13, 13-15, 4-15.
Men’s doubles: Lee Yong Dae-Tan Boon Heong bt Hendra Setiawan- Or Chin Chung 15-13, 15-12.
