Saina a win away from Malaysia title

Sarawak (Malaysia), January 21

Saina Nehwal notched up a straight-game win over Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin to seal her place in the finals of the $120,000 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold today.

Saina, who has been desperately looking for a win to boost her confidence after recovering from a knee surgery, thrashed fifth seed Yin 21-13 21-10 in a lopsided semifinal.

The 26-year-old will face Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the summit clash. The unheralded world No. 67 Thai shuttler stunned world No. 19 Cheung Ngan Yi, seeded second, 21-19 20-22 21-18 in another semifinal that lasted an hour and 16 minutes.

Coming into the match, Saina enjoyed a 6-2 head-to-head record against Yin, who had last beaten the Indian at the 2010 Asian Games. In the first game, the Hyderabad shuttler had opened up a 4-1 lead early on but lost control as Yin erased the deficit and grabbed a 7-4 advantage at one stage. Despite a fightback from Saina, Yin managed to hold on to a 12-9 lead but the Indian reeled off five straight points to turn the tables and then amassed seven points on the trot to leave the Hong Kong player stranded. 

In the second game, Saina opened up a 6-0 lead and kept on extending it to eventually shut the door on Yin. — PTI