Saina Nehwal

Malaysia hammer India 3-1 regardless of Saina Nehwal captivating her singles match, in the mixed team final of Commonwealth Games badminton here on Friday.

Malaysia, India and England engaging the stage, it was a reiterate condition of the 1998 version of the Games.

For the strong crowd, the tie never rose as a contest once the mixed doubles combination of Jwala Gutta and V. Diju lost the opening match.

India’s only hope of making a match of it depended on the victory of this pair. But Malaysian make-shift combination of doubles specialists Keat and Chin Eei Hui proved too much for the Indians and won 21-14, 10-21, 21-10.

In fact, this Malaysian combination is unseeded in the open section that begins on Saturday and figures in the same quarter as the second-seeded Indians.

P. Kashyap won new fans following his gallant display against Wei. He kept pace with the speedy Malaysian throughout the first game. In the second, the Malaysian gave no chance to the youngster from Hyderabad and won 21-18, 21-7.

Saina made an interesting start and moments to be cheered and she sprung back to beat Wong Mew Choo. She misspent a couple of game points in the opening game to lose, but never again let things go unmanageable in the remaining two games to win 24-26, 21-17, 21-14.

India’s kismet may not be altered in the final but it surely assisted Saina hold a psychological edge over the second-seeded Malaysian since they are set to partake for the gold medal on October 14.

In the men’s doubles that followed, Koo Kien Keat made a homecoming in the company of his regular partner Tan Boon Heong and clogged Sanave Thomas and Rupesh Kumar 21-12, 21-19. This accomplished a comprehensive feat for the potent Malaysians.

England averred the bronze by beating Singapore 3-1. This helped England maintain its striking record in the Games of winning a team medal each instance.

Tags: Badminton, Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth Games, India, Indian Sports, Malaysia, Saina Nehwal, Sports, Sports India