Opportunities for unheralded players and shock exits have been the talk of the town, while Saina Nehwal kept her winning momentum to enter the semis but lost narrowly to Li Xuerui in the semi-final. Much had been the news after the draw for the India Open 2016 was released, that an anticipated semi-final fixture between Lin Dan and Lee Chong Wei will take place. Their on-field battles have even been compared analogously to the “Djokovic vs Federer” rivalry in the modern day world of badminton. Well, that was not to be so as both of these champion shuttlers crashed out from the tournament, with Lin Dan losing to Son Won Ho, and Chong Wei bowing out to Hong Kong’s Wei Nan. The matches didn’t exhibit much excitement as it seemed clear that both these top brass players were letting their rivals win out of sheer lack of interest. But this also seemed practical as they would want to have saved their energies for premier events, with the Olympic Games qualification dates in mind as well. Hence, as a matter of fact, the India Open had to be at the bottom of their priority lists. What this means, is that the winner of the men’s singles category, will be a player outside of the top 10 rankings. As far as the performances of the Indians go to show, the men’s singles put up a lackluster display of skills and hardly fought. All of their matches ended on Day 1 itself, with not a single Indian going through to the pre-quarterfinals. Even the swashbuckling duo of Ashwini Ponappa and Jwala Gutta failed their women’s doubles test, as the South Korean pair of Ah Ra Go and Hae Won Yoo blanked them 17-21, 21-14, 21-17, to seal the match. The only rays of hope however, came in the form of Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu, who progressed to the last 8. While Saina had it easy against Thailand’s Jindapol Nitchaon, Sindhu initially struggled against B.Ombumrungpan , eventually winning it 17-21, 21-19, 21-16. In the quarterfinals however, she had to bow out to Bae Y.J. The latter looked shaky in her rallies initially, but the indomitable Korean covered up enough, to ultimately win the match. Saina too was involved in a high-pressure match against Hyun Ji Sung. The battle lasted for a grueling 83 minutes and in the end, it was Saina who triumphed. Both of them could barely even walk after the formal handshake. Such was the intensity. In the semi-final, Saina lost 20 - 22, 21 - 17, 19 - 21 to Li Xuerui of China. So as the tournament reaches its final stages, all hopes will be pinned on her to deliver the goods, though this competition has given hope to many lesser-known players and being proclaimed champion in this Super Series, is sure to give their hopes of Olympics qualification a major boost. author
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