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There is a saying in every facet of life which is that you write off champions at your own peril. That quote is being proven right again at the ongoing China Open Superseries Premier by World Championships silver medalist Saina Nehwal.
The 25-year-old drew some flak over her showing at tournaments following her historic silver medal win at the World Championships at Jakarta in August, when she was knocked out in the second round of the Japan Open Superseries and in the Denmark Open Superseries Premier by Japan’s Minatsu Mitani and then losing out in the quarterfinals of the French Open Superseries at the hands of Ratchanok Intanon.
But the Indian seems to have found her form going once again at the China Open, where she is also the defending champion and barring one encounter, where Tee Jing Yi of Malaysia pushed her to three games she has finished off most of her opponents in quite convincing fashion.
What though will be most satisfying for the Indian is that she has reached the final after beating Wang Yihan of China, a player who has been a nemesis for a large part of her career and someone against whom she had a 3-9 record prior to the semifinal win today.
The final though is always a different contest as compared to others. There is pressure from all over the place and expectations are a notch higher. At the other end the Indian will have reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui to counter, an opponent against whom she has lost 9 of the 11 encounters, including reverses at the All England Championships in 2012 World Championships in 2014.
But considering the manner in which Yihan threat was brushed aside today, we can certainly be hopeful of an encore on Sunday and if it does happen, all the talk of Saina losing form post the World Championships will also be laid to rest once-at-for-all.
Match Details:
Match: Saina Nehwal vs Li Xuerui
Time: 12:15 P.M IST
TV Details: Star Sports 4 and HD 4
Prediction: Saina to win in three games
