India’s Saina Nehwal sparked a remarkable fightback against Thailand Open champion Ratchanok Intanon to win their first-round match of the Indonesia Open Superseries Premier in three games. Nehwal, ranked 11th in the world, beat the eighth-placed Intanon 17-21, 21-18, 21-12 in a match that lasted 50 minutes.
Nehwal got off to a good start in the first game, taking a 10-4 lead before her Thai opponent shook off her rustiness to make it 11-9 at the halfway point. Intanon, a former world No 1, went on to take the game 21-17. Nehwal again took the lead in the second game, which again went right down to the wire, but the Indian managed to hold on and take it 21-18, forcing a decider. The third game was pretty one-sided, with Nehwal, riding on the momentum of her second-game win, converting a 11-6 lead at the halfway point to clinch it 21-12.
With the win, Nehwal moves on to the second round, where she will face world No 15 Nitchaon Jindapol of Thailand. Should she win that match, Nehwal could face world No 1 Tai Tzy Ying of Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals. PV Sindhu, seeded fourth, is the other Indian in the fray in the women’s singles draw. The Rio Olympics silver medalist will take on Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the first round later on Tuesday.
Earlier in the day, India’s mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa and B Sumeeth Reddy were knocked out in the first round by Indonesian qualifiers Irfan Fadhilah and Weni Anggraini.