The Awadhe Warriors capped off their home leg in fine fashion, defeating the Bengaluru Top Guns 4-1 in Lucknow on Wednesday. The SainaNehwal-led side provided very little chance for the visitors and in the end, proved to be just too good for them.
Here’s how all the action unfolded:
1.Mixed Doubles: Bodin Issara/K Maneesha[AW] vs Khim How/Ashwini Ponnappa[BTG]
The opening game saw the Awadhe pair start off on a positive note, taking a 4-1 lead before How and Ponnnappa fought back to equalise the scores at 4-4. But a few costly errors on the part of Maneesha and Issara meant that it was How and Ponnappa who led 8-5 at the interval. After the interval, The TopGuns pair continued their domination and eventually sealed the game 15-13.
The second game saw the Awadhe pair make a fine comeback into proceedings, starting quickly off the blocks and eventually leading 8-5 at the break. After the interval, the Awadhe pair continued to have the upper hand but and eventually clinched the game 15-11.
The decider saw the TopGuns pair being in positive fashion butIssara and Maneesha made a fine comeback to first take the lead before going into the interval with an 8-4 advantage. The duo of Maneesha and Issara continued to hold the aces after the break but at the 11-11 mark, How and Ponnappa took the upper hand, winning 3 out of the next 5 points to lead 14-13 before clinching the game 15-13 and with that the tie as well.
Final Scoreline-Khim How/Ashwini Ponnappa beat Bodin Issara/K Maneesha 15-13 11-15 15-13
2.Men’s Singles: Sai Praneeth[AW] vs Sameer Verma[BTG]
The opening game saw a tight contest as both players won 5 out of the opening 10 points but it was Sai Praneeth who took the lead at the break, going 8-7 up at the interval. After the break it was Verma who took the upper hand, winning 6 out of the next 11 points to go 14-12 up and then clinching the opening game 15-13 to take a decisive lead.
The second game saw Sai Praneeth make a fine comeback into the match as he put pressure on his opponent right from the word go and led 8-4 at the interval mark. Sai Praneeth held on to his advantage after the break even as Verma kept the pressure on. But at the 14-13 mark, the Top Guns player stunned the crowd and his opponent, winning out of the next 3 points to win the game 15-14 and clinch the tie.
Final Scoreline- Sameer Verma beat Sai Praneeth 15-13 15-14
3.Men’s Singles: Tanongsak Saensomboonsak[AW] vs Kidambi Srikanth[BTG][Trump called by BTG]
The opening game saw the Thai take the early upper hand. taking a 4-1 lead before further strengthening his position to 8-4 at the interval mark. The other side of the break saw the Indian make a fine comeback as he won 4 out of the next 5 points to close the gap to one before levelling the game at 9-9. The cat-and-mouse game continued after that, but at the 11-11 mark it was Saensomboonsak, who took control over proceedings, winning 4 points straight to clinch the game 15-11.
The second game saw the Thai carry the momentum forward as he took a 5-1 lead in the game before taking an 8-5 lead at the interval to put huge pressure on Srikanth. Even as Srikanth tried to stay in the hunt, it proved to be futile as Saensomboonsak clinched the game 15-9.
Final Scoreline: Tanongsak Saensomboonsak beat Kidambi Srikanth 15-11 15-9
4.Women’s Singles: Saina Nehwal[AW] vs Suo Di[BTG][Trump called by AW]
The opening game saw Di take an early 4-1 lead before Saina made an entry into the contest, clinching 3 out of the next 5 points to reduce the deficit to 2 before levelling the score at 6-6 and then incredibly taking an 8-6 lead at the interval. Despite not looking 100% fit, the Indian made light work after that, clinching the opening game 15-10,
The second game proved to be a thriller as the Chinese made a fine comeback into proceedings, to eventually clinch the game 15-13 and take the match into a decider.
The decider saw the World No.2 bring her ‘A’ game to the fore as she crushed her opponent 15-8 to seal the game and the match.
Final Scoreline- Saina Nehwal beat Suo Di 15-10 13-15 15-8
5.Men’s Doubles: Bodin Issara/Cai Yun[AW] vs Khim Wah Lim/Hoon Thien How[BTG]
The Men’s Doubles tie saw the Awadh pair put in yet another convincing performance as they clinched the opening game of the tie 15-12, but it was in the second tie that the Bengaluru pair were left totally clueless as Issara and Yun ran away with proceedings, clinching the game 15-6 to romp home to victory and inflict yet another loss on the Top Guns.
Final Scoreline: Bodin Issara/Cai Yun 15-12 15-6 beat Khim Wah Lim/Hoon Thien
