Saina Nehwal was primed for many great victories in 2016, however, it was the injuries and poor form that emerged victorious at the end of the day. That my friends was the story of 2016. And, for all badminton enthusiasts across India and the world, 2017 brought better news. The Indian shuttler finally ended her very long, and career-threatening year with a stupendous win at the Malaysian Masters Grand Prix 2017.

A much-needed win for Saina Nehwal

The tournament began on the 22nd of January this year. The 26-year-old injured her knee just ahead of the Olympics and had quite a disappointing year in 2016. However, she had continued to show her promise throughout but mostly failed to hit the final shot in the court. The year 2017 brought a new promise for the Saina Nehwal and Premier Badminton League was her warm-up for the big game.

At the Malaysian Masters Grand Prix 2017, her first match against Chasinee Korepap of Thailand was quite a walk in the park. Nehwal bagged her first game with some tremendous moves, eventually bringing back her derailed confidence. The second game too moved in a quick fashion and ended in favour of the Indian shuttler 21-9, 21-8.

She then brushed aside Indonesia’s Hanna Ramadini in a very well-designed way in the second match of the series. The first game seemed like a pretty close call in the beginning, but the Indian shuttler proved her long-lost game of skills with some competitive rallies. The second game too was clinched by Nehwal in a very calm, yet subtle way, hence sailing into the quarters 21-17, 21-12.

The main challenge

The 26-year old had to square off against another Indonesian starlet, Fitriani in the quarterfinals. Nehwal dished out a dominating show to edge past her. Nehwal slowly caught the momentum and raced to the victory line. The semi-final was quite the nerve-wrecker. The Indian showed tentativeness in her lunging movements at the very beginning of the match itself.

The Hong Kong-based Yip Pui Yin seemed to have dominated over the first few rallies of the match. And, Nehwal was finding it difficult to put her right leg to too much use. However, soon she was able to receive the drops, hence confusing Yip on her own shots. She later showed utter dominance by taking the 16 points out of 17, hence clinching the first game. The second game was a rather easy one when compared to the first, as the Hong Kong player struggled in the game. She put way too much pressure on her recently recovered ankle and played the game like an absolute professional and coasted into the final of the grand Prix tournament.

More than just a final

The final was not only going to be a victory and a hundred thousand dollars for Nehwal. It was about her legacy, her skill, and her technique. Squared off against the 18-year-old Thai Pornpawee Chochuwong, Saina Nehwal triumphed 22-20 22-20 in a 46-minute clash. The 26-year-old was quite on her back foot at the beginning of the game, as her opponent scored four consecutive points. The Thailand-based teenager maintained her lead up for a large span of time, up until Nehwal narrowed the gap with some great comeback shots and well-planned drops and finally clinched the first game. The lead shifted hands too many times in the second game and finally, the points reached 20-20 at the 41st minute. But soon, Nehwal wrapped up the match with some quick rallies, hence clinching a title after almost a year.

Many had their doubts over Saina Nehwal’s career being on a thin thread and believed that her loss at the Rio Olympics was probably the end of her road. All those question marks that clouded the minds of the badminton fanatics and pundits have received somewhat of an answer with this win. It is just the beginning of 2017 and there is still a very long way to go for Nehwal to prove her mettle.

However, the one major takeaway from this competition for India and Saina Nehwal is that she did not drop a single game en-route to winning the title. Some would say that was bound to happen as the other players were ranked below the Indian. But, either was it is a big boost in confidence for the shuttler who has been suffering from the worst phase of her playing career.

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