Saina Nehwal vs Mette Poulsen, Live Badminton Score and Updates, Hong Kong Open Superseries 2017 Round 1

And this is only the start!

We'll be bringing you live coverage of PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy's matches as well, both of which are later in the day.

Stay tuned to Sportskeeda for all the latest updates.

WOW! What a match it was!

What tremendous fighting spirit from both the ladies! In the end, it was Saina's sheer experience and resilience that shone though as she came back from a deficit in each game.

Final score: Nehwal def Poulsen, 21-19, 23-21 in 46 minutes to enter the second round

AND SHE DOES!

23-21

Saina gets her SECOND MATCH POINT.

22-21

Can she close it out?

Now it's Saina's turn to save!

She does it to level the game, 21-21

Now Poulsen has a game point.

21-20 she leads

Nehwal gets a match point but a resilient Poulsen saves it to make it 20-20

And that is exactly what she does!

She storms back to take FOUR POINTS ON THE TROT AND LEAD 19-18

18-15 advantage for the Dane.

Can Saina fight back and finish it off in 2?

A brilliant Poulsen now goes up to 17-14

Saina has now fought back to trail by just one point.

14-15

Poulsen returns from the break, looking more hungry and rejuvenated.

Up 13-11 over Saina now

At the break, Poulsen has a slender lead of 11-10

They continue to be even. Still nothing much to separate the two.

9-9

It's a highly competitive game now.

Tied at 7-7

A long rally goes in favour of the Dane and we are back to 5-5

Saina takes two points on the trot to have a 5-4 advantage

It's all level at 3-3

SECOND GAME

Saina jumps to a 2-1 lead.

Saina bags the first game, 21-19

Saina has a game point now.

20-19

And Nehwal fights back yet again!

Was there ever any doubt?

19-19

Poulsen once again wrests away the momentum from Nehwal and soars to 19-17

And Saina is BACK in this!

17-17

Poulsen now has just a solitary point lead.

17-16

Once more Nehwal showing her fighting skills here.

She makes it 15-16

But Poulsen staves her challenge and goes up to 16-13

Saina very much fighting back. Pulls back a couple of points and trails 13-14

Poulsen ahead 14-11 now

Poulsen maintains her three-point lead over the former champion.

13-10

At the break, Poulsen has an 11-8 advantage

Poulsen still is in control of this game.

She is up 10-8

It's a 9-7 lead for the lower-ranked Dane

Saina gets a couple of points back but the Dane still has the edge.

7-6

Poulsen makes a brighter start and goes up to 6-4

Welcome to the Sportskeeda liveblog of the 2017 Hong Kong Open Superseries first round. 2010 champion Saina Nehwal faces World No. 44 Mette Poulsen of Denmark for a place in the second round.

Saina is placed at the 11th position in the world rankings, 33 spots above her Danish opponent. This is their first meeting.

The tournament has a lot of significance for the former World No. 1. It's not just the title she is focussed on but a lot will depend on her performance here in terms of her qualification for the Dubai World Superseries Finals to be held next month.

This is Nehwal's last opportunity and she is mainly in contention with the World No. 10 He Bingjiao, who has all but sealed her place. Saina needs to win this tournament. Anything other than that can put her out of contention.

Her path gets very tough from the second round as the eighth seed Chen Yufei and the World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying lurk in her part of the draw. Her first round presents a relatively easier challenge. Poulsen lost her last four matches in a row and is thus expected not to pose much threat to her accomplished opponent.

Saina should win this and be ready for the bigger challenges awaiting her from the next round.

Saina Nehwal vs Mette Poulsen, Live Badminton Score and Updates, Hong Kong Open Superseries 2017 Round 1

Nehwal def Poulsen, 21-19, 23-21 to enter the second round