Saina Nehwal Wins Second Australian Open Super Series Title

Sydney: Indian badminton player Saina Nehwal won the 2016 Australian Super Series in the women’s singles category after defeating Chinese player Sun Yu 11-21, 21-14, 21-19 in a 72-minute thriller on Sunday at the Sydney Sports Centre.

This is her second Australian Open win and with this, the World Number Eight has managed to claim her maiden title this season.

Two years after she first lifted the title, Saina became the first shuttler to win the Australian Open for a second time. This was Saina’s first final after she lost to Li Xuerui in China last November. The win also rapidly improves her chances of a second consecutive podium finish at the Rio Olympics 2016. Saina had an impressive 5-1 record prior to the final, with their last encounter taking place in China last year. On Sunday, the Indian only took the lead further with a clinical display in the second and third game.

Her return to form also comes at the right time. With the Olympics slated to get underway a little over a month from now, Saina regaining the Australian Open title is just the tonic she needed ahead of the sporting mega-event in Brazil. As evident as it's been from her performance in Sydney, the Indian has looked rejuvenated after finally having recovered from the nagging injuries that proved her undoing in the previous few tournaments. Having brushed aside her long-term nemesis and World Number Two Yihan Wang in one of the most dominating performances, Saina needed nothing less than a repeat to break her title drought in 2016.