Sindhu Saina
She went into the mid-break with a 11-8 lead and seemed the match would go into a decider. "I would say it was a weak final for me because I have been shooting 458 plus all the time, but this time it was weak in the kneeling position and I had to cover it somehow in the prone but, still again, not so good in the standing", said the shooter, not particularly satisfied with his effort but one which was enough to get him his first CWG gold. But Nehwal, known for her retrieving game, has never followed that strategy against her compatriot and prefers to go on an all-out attack mode.
Sindhu found her bearings after Saina had taken a 20-14 lead and closed it 18-20 but Saina brought her own brute force to fore with a smash targeting Sindhu's body which was simply unreturnable.
There was also something to cheer for India as Satwik Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty clinched the silver medal and helped India to its first ever medal in doubles, though they lost to the Malaysian pair of Chan Peng Soon and Guo Liu Ying 19-21, 19-21 in a well-contested final. She had won two of their three career meetings and had also defeated Sindhu in the final of the national championships previous year.
Saina was sacked up and played with power and aggression to put Sindhu under pressure right from the start.
Despite being troubled by injuries over the last two years and playing her 11th match in 11 days, Saina showed no signs of fatigue and her movement was way better than it has been at any time this year.
But easy defeat was not on PV Sindhu's mind, she forced Saina to break a sweat and make errors in the game.
The second game also started on similar lines with Saina opening up with a 4-0 lead before stretching it further to 11-3 at the breather.
Saina continued to fight hard, attempting to chip away at the deficit. But the constant pressure by Saina finally paid off when she drew level at 19-19.
The 2010 Delhi Games champion Saina and 2014 bronze medallist Sindhu had clashed at the Senior National championship finals last November with the former having the last laugh after a gruelling match. To Srikanth's credit, he made the most of his fancied opponent's lack of intensity and took the first game 21-19 in the 25 minutes.
But Sindhu was not to be so easily defeated. With a half smash and smart net play over the next two shots, Srikanth took a one-game lead.
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