Saina pockets Thailand Open title

Bangkok, June 10 (IANS) India’s Saina Nehwal waged a tough battle against local hope Ratchanok Inthanon to win the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold badminton event here on Sunday.

The world No.5 shrugged off a slow start to beat 11th-ranked Inthanon 19-21, 21-15, 21-10. It was Saina’s second title of the year after the Swiss Open in March.

The Indian was the lone top-10 player in the tournament, but the win could only give her confidence going into the London Olympics next month.

Saina trailed 9-15 in the first game and unlike her semifinal against another Thai Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, she could not cut the deficit.

She changed gears in the second game, racing to a 8-2 lead and winning it comfortably. The Hyderbadi was in control in the decider to seal the victory.

It was her play close to the net that made the difference in the outcome of the match. She earned almost half of her points through net winners in the 1 hour 5 minute contest.

Saina said it was good to win the tournament before the Indonesian Superseries event next week.

“It (the win) was not easy as I was involved in a lot of tough matches. Now the focus is to do well in Indonesia. All the top Chinese players would be taking part so the competition will be a lot tougher than here,” said Saina.