Miracle medal Saina… chunk of vociferous Indian supporters cheering for Saina, were taken by surprise when the script suddenly changed with Wang getting injured towards the very end of the first game.
Wang got herself medical attention a
nd even went in for the second game but conceded the match after just one point. A thunderous roar greeted Saina when it was announced that she had won the bronze medal and Wang had retired.
‘I still canalt39t believe that I have won a medal. In badminton, I never believed that India could win a medal because the competition is so tough. It is a dream come true for me,’Saina said after the match. ‘I had trained hard and there was a lot of expectation. I initially thought that she was just taking rest as she was tiring, but then I realised she was injured. Its sad that she got injured, but I was confident of beating her as I was coming into rhythm,’she said.
Saina said her defeat against top ranked player Yihan Wang of China on Friday was still rankling her as she had adopted a wrong strategy against her.
‘Todays match was crucial. But I was still thinking about what happened yesterday.
But as the game went, I began to play better. I felt that she was tiring and I had my chance,’the ace shuttler said.
Saina, seeded fourth, started off well by taking an early lead but the Chinese clawed back and the score moved neck and neck till 6- 6. From then on, the Chinese increased the lead by not allowing Saina to play her natural game.
Wang took a lead of 16- 10 but the Indian again showed her tenacity by reducing the margin and engaging her opponent in long rallies, a tactics which she could not do in the semifinal match.
The turning point came when the score was 20- 18 in the first game. In her bid to finish off the game, Wang leaped into the air and unleashed a blistering smash from the baseline but landed awkwardly and injured her left knee in the process.
She bandaged her knee and took the court for the second game but conceded after just one point, much to the delight of the Indian spectators and IOA officials who were present at the venue.
‘Today my strategy was to engage her in long rallies and it did work to some extent. Yesterday also we had the same strategy, but it did not work. I should have tried something else and played my own game instead of trying to match her,’Saina said.
‘I had never won a match like this before. May be, the medal was written for me. I have always wanted an Olympic medal. I always wanted to see Indias national flag going up at the podium,’she said.
The moment it was known that she was the bronze medal, Saina first waved at her coach P Gopichand, who was sitting on the coachs chair, and then acknowledged the cheers from the spectators, most of whom were Indians. PTI Guvs alt145 soft approachalt39… In the present scenario, the Governor is not putting the government in the dock on any issue while his predecessors namely Rameshwar Thakur and Balram Jakhad used to reprimand the government whenever they wanted.
Digvijay Singh as chief minister, had a tough time working with the then Governor Bhai Mahavir as the latter never used to spare any chance to grill the Congress government. A senior Congress leader maintains that the Governor of Madhya Pradesh should be like Karnataka Governor Hansraj Bharadwaj and Gujarat Governor Kamla Beniwal, who could instill some fear in the government. Sources say Congressmen consider Governor Yadav to be soft on Chauhan which may bring problems for Yadav.
Vikas out of … Raja. In a stunning turn of events, Vikas ( 69kg) was ousted from the Games here after AIBA overturned the result of the bout he had won, following a review.
The 20- year- old had won 13- 11 over Errol Spence in a thrilling contest last night but following an appeal by his rivals team management, the AIBA awarded the bout 15- 13 to the American citing the fouls committed by the Indian which were not noticed by the referee.
While agreeing, Vi
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