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All England Open: Saina Nehwal vs Nozomi Okuhara First Round Live Match Updates and Commentary

Saina Nehwal beats Nozomi Okuhara 21-15, 21-14.
Updated: 09 March 2017 00:18 IST - Published: March, 08 2017 11:20 PM IST
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That wraps up our liveblog of the All England Championships for the day. Hope you enjoyed it. Do join us for the second round tomorrow. Goodnight!
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That was a commanding performance from the 2015 runner-up over the defending champion! That was definitely some statement. And with that, the top two Indian shuttle queens bring double delight on International Women's Day!
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And Saina Nehwal WINS 21-15, 21-14 to enter the second round!


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A determined Okuhara is finding the lines and takes 4 points in a row to reduce the gap to 14-19.
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Nehwal is moving brilliantly and is now at 19-10.
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It is a big 18-9 lead for Saina now.
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Okuhara is clearly rusty after her shoulder injury and errors are currently coming thick and fast. Saina now leads 16-8.
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It is all going Saina's way at the moment and she is now up 14-8.
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Nehwal has now cruised to 13-6 after the break.
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Saina takes an 11-5 lead at half-time.
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It is 10-5 for the Indian now.
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Nehwal's retrieval skills are looking very, very good at the moment and she has built up an 8-4 lead in Game 2.
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Okuhara is testing Saina's defense but she herself makes a couple of errors to let the Indian go up to 5-3.
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GAME 2

The two are evenly tied at 2-2 in the initial stages.
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Nehwal wins the first game 21-15.
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And Saina staves off the Okuhara challenge to reach game points at 20-15.
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The defending champion is fighting back and not letting Saina run away with the game. It is now 17-15 for Nehwal.
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The Malaysia Masters champion is now steadily extending her lead once more and is now at 16-12.
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The defending champion takes a couple of points to reduce the deficit to 11-13.
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Saina still maintains the 4-point lead and is now 13-9 after the break.
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At half-time, Saina leads 11-7.
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Okuhara is trying to make a comeback here and closes the gap to 7-10.
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It is a big 10-5 advantage for the former World No. 1 now.
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Saina continues her effortless shotmaking and now leads 8-3.
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The match has just begun and it is Saina who is in total control. She leads 5-1.
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Good evening and welcome to the Sportskeeda liveblog of Saina Nehwal's first round match at the prestigious All England Championships. The 2015 runner-up faces the defending champion and World No. 11 Nozomi Okuhara in a blockbuster opener.

The Japanese is returning from a shoulder injury, so there should be some rustiness. But she can definitely make it difficult for the Indian.

Earlier in the day, PV Sindhu made a blazing start to her campaign and HS Prannoy came from behind in a stunning show of resilience.

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