Monday 22 June, 2009

Saina Nehwal wins Indonesian Open 2009

Indian world number eight Saina Nehwal won her first Super Series event in Indonesia on Sunday to raise her country's hopes of a strong performance at the world championships they host in August.

The world junior champion beat China's Lin Wang 12-21 21-18 21-9, having lost to the world number three at the Singapore Super Series the previous week.

"Saina's achievement is huge not just for Indian badminton but for Indian sport," former all-England winner and national coach Pullela Gopichand told Reuters.

"In terms of quality, the Indonesian event is as good as the all-England, the Olympics or the world championships with eight of the world's top 10 figuring in it."

Nehwal, 19, became the first Indian woman to reach the Olympic singles quarter-finals in Beijing last year.

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