Saina Nehwal clinches Malaysia Masters title
Saina Nehwal defeated Pornpawee Chochuwong 22-20, 22-20 in the Malaysia Masters final to bag her first title of 2017.
Sarawak (Malaysia): India ace Saina Nehwal clinched the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold title as she produced a dominating performance to notch up a straight-game win over Pornpawee Chochuwong here on Sunday.
Read: It has been very tough and emotional journey: Saina Nehwal
The Indian badminton ace was in her elements as she defeated her Thai opponent 22-20,
The London Olympics bronze medallist, Saina, who was desperately looking for a win to boost her confidence after recovering from a knee surgery, which derailed her Rio Olympics campaign last year, made a brilliant start to the year 2017 with a title triumph.
Saina had beaten Hong Kong's Yip Pui Yin in the semifinals to seal her place in the finals.
Saina had thrashed fifth seed Yin 21-13, 21-10 in a lop-sided semifinal.
Saina’s opponent in the final, the unheralded World No 67 Thai shuttler had stunned World No 19 Cheung Ngan Yi, seeded second, 21-19, 20-22, 21-18 in another semi-final match that lasted an hour and 16 minutes.