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Saina might have lost but not before reminding the world what a fighter she still is! This was her very first match after three months of hiatus that saw her having a knee surgery. If this is the start, then surely better things are to come soon and she won't take long to get back to where she belongs!
Porntip Buranaprasertsuk takes the last two points quickly to close the door on Saina Nehwal with a 21-16, 19-21, 21-14 win.
And she is slowly inching towards the finish line as she makes it 19-14
The Thai builds on her lead to go up 18-14.
The Thai goes up 16-13. Time is running out. Can Saina stage an improbable comeback once more?
Saina needs to summon the same fighting spirit and courage she showed in the latter stages of Game 2. The Thai is right now ahead 15-11.
On resumption, the Thai grabs two points to take a lead of 13-10.
At the mid-game interval, it is the Thai who has the advantage, albeit a slim one, as she leads 11-10
The game is all even once more as they are locked at 10-10
But the Thai takes a quick couple of points to lead 9-8
Saina grabs the lead yet again to surge ahead 8-7. Can she hold on to it this time?
The early stages are now expectedly very competitive and the Thai has a very slim edge of 6-5
The Thai too is fighting back and makes it even at 4-4
Game 3
Nehwal starts the third game with the same aggressive intent and leads 3-2.
The start to the decider will be critical. Saina cannot afford to lose a string of points.
From trailing 4-11 at the mid-game break to taking the second game 21-19, Saina Nehwal never ceases to amaze!
And Saina Nehwal is BACK!!!!!! She takes the second game 21-19.
And the turnaround is HERE! Nehwal has the lead for the first time in this game as she goes up 19-18
Once more, Nehwal has reduced the deficit to just one point as she now trails 16-17.
Nehwal now trails 14-16. Credit to the Thai too for not making it easy for Saina.
And she makes it 13-14 now. The lioness in Saina Nehwal has showed up!
Saina has closed the gap and made it 8-11. The fightback is definitely ON!
It's an uphill task now but never count Saina Nehwal out! She has always been a fighter and she will not bow out without giving it her all. Currently, the Indian trails 8-12
As Saina is trying her best to get back into competitive mode, the Thai makes the most of it and goes into the mid-game break with a solid 11-4 lead.
The Thai builds on her lead to surge ahead 7-2.
GAME 2
Porntip Buranaprasertsuk is moving fast here and Nehwal is struggling a bit with her pace. Clearly, the rust is there. The Thai goes up 4-1.
Saina is still feeling the effects of her long hiatus as she could not stop Porntip Buranaprasertsuk from surging to a 20-16 lead and convert on her very first game point to take the game, 21-16.
Nehwal tried her best to assert herself here and took a slender lead of 16-15 before her opponent came back to level once more for 16-16
The Thai too is fighting back and thus we have an enthralling game on our hands. 14-14
And even makes it all level. The score is 13-13 now!
But Saina, the fighter is BACK! She cuts down the lead and closes in to 12-13.
After the break the Thai is still maintaining a three-point lead over her illustrious rival, 12-9.
Saina is unable to stop her opponent from getting to a half-time lead. The Thai goes into the mid-game break with an 11-8 advantage.
The Thai has now jumped to a 9-7 lead as she continues to put pressure on the Indian.
But the World No. 13 Thai is exploiting Nehwal's movement and gets to level the score 6-6
Nehwal now gets to add two more points to her kitty and soars to a 6-4 lead.
The early stages are getting competitive and Nehwal has a slim edge now - 4-3
PV Sindhu has wrapped up this game in 34 minutes and won the contest 21-12, 21-16
She could not have asked for an easier opponent. World No. 13 Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailandhas lost 9 out of 10 times to Saina and the Indian is expected to breathe easy here.
Chia Hsin Lee 16-21 PV Sindhu - She takes it. Sindhu has taken the second game and the match. BRILLIANT from PV Sindhu.
Meanwhile, three months after an ill-fated campaign at the Rio Olympics which led to a knee surgery and a consequent three-months hiatus, India's other golden girl Saina Nehwal is FINALLY back on the court!
Chia Hsin Lee 15-19 PV Sindhu - Sindhu gets two more points. She is getting close.
Chia Hsin Lee 14-17 PV Sindhu - Sindhu finally takes a point and if she can take a couple more, it will be match for her.
Chia Hsin Lee 14-16 PV Sindhu - Lee is 2 points behind Sindhu and we are moving towards the business end of this game.
Chia Hsin Lee 11-16 PV Sindhu - A string of continuous points from Lee and she is well within Sindhu's tally of 15.
Chia Hsin Lee 8-15 PV Sindhu - Lee gets a couple of points but I think it is too late.
Chia Hsin Lee 6-15 PV Sindhu - Sindhu is in the driver's seat here. She should seal the match soon.
Chia Hsin Lee 4-11 PV Sindhu - We are just about half an hour into the game and Sindhu has been all class today.
Chia Hsin Lee 4-11 PV Sindhu - She has added two more points. The end is looking near for Lee.
