Indonesia Open 2017 | Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu enter second round
SportsCafe
Saina Nehwal has brushed aside Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon 17-21 21-18 21-12 in a thrilling opening encounter to enter the second round at the Indonesia Open Super Series Premier on Tuesday. PV Sindhu also secured a 21-12 21-19 win over World No. 20 Pornpawee Chochuwong in her first round game.
Three-time Indonesian Open champion Saina started the match on a good note, leading 10-4 at one stage but lost the initiative soon after as Intanon made a fantastic comeback by levelling the game at 14-14. Saina found it hard to claw her way back as the Thai secured the first game 21-17.
In the second game, Saina again faced a similar type of situation. After Saina opened up a 12-7 lead, the Thai girl levelled scores at 16-16, but the Indian ace didn’t make the same mistake as in the first set and surged ahead to win the game 21-18.
In the decider, Saina brought her A-game to the fore. After gaining an 8-2 lead, she didn't give Ratchanok any chance to pose a challenge and secured a 17-21, 21-18, 21-12 win to enter the second round of the tournament.
In another match, Rio Olympics Silver medalist PV Sindhu hardly broke a sweat in her opening game against Chochuwong after leading 6-2 early. Although the Thai still tried to make a game out of the match, the Indian ace secured the first game 21-12.
In the second game, Sindhu once again opened a 10-3 lead only to allow Chochuwong make a stunning comeback with seven straight points, but the former surged to a 15-10 lead before winning the match 21-12 21-19.
In mixed doubles, B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa lost to the Indonesian pair of Irfan Fadhilah and Weni Anggraini 12-21, 9-21 to bow out of the tournament.
