Olympics: Saina bags bronze as injured Wang bows out

Mangalore Today / NDTV

London, August 4: Saina Nehwal took the Olympic women’s singles badminton bronze in rather disappointing circumstances as her Chinese opponent Xin Wang withdrew with injury. The Chinese was leading Saina 21-18, 1-0 before a knee injury forced her retirement.

 

 

Saina Nehwal started in a blistering fashion and took initial lead in the first game. The Chinese, though, gauged Saina’s game pretty quickly and hit back hard to wrest the initiative from the Indian.

Saina was looking all at odds as Xin Wang gathered momentum and the first game looked destined to go the Chinese way. Saina was trailing 11-18 at one point in the first game before a fight back ensued.

The game went extremely close as Saina closed the lead down to a mere two points. Just before the last point in the first game, Xin Wang showed signs of an injury as she went down at the back of the court.

The Chinese, though, took the first game 21-18, as Saina’s late charge was halted.

In the next game, Xin Wang took the first point and immediately went down. A polite handshake with Saina meant that the bronze medal went to the Indian. India now has the same number of medals as the Beijing 2008 Olympics where Sushil Kumar and Vijender got bronze while Abhinav Bindra got a Gold. At the Olympics 2012, though, two bronze - one each from Gagan Narang and Saina Nehwal while Vijay Kumar landed a Silver.

Saina also becomes the second Indian female athlete to win an Olympic medal after Karnam Malleswari’s bronze at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in women’s weightlifting.