IBL 2013, 1st semi-final: Unbeaten Saina defeats Juliane Schenk in tough match

Zee Media Bureau/Suyash Srivastava

Hyderabad: Hyderabad Hotshots’ ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal continued her good run in the Indian Badminton League as she defeated Juliane Schenk of Pune Pistons 21-10, 19-21, 11-8 in the first semi-final on her home ground at the Gachibowli Indoor Stadium on Wednesday. Saina had defeated the Russian in the league game. She began the match high on confidence and won the first set 21-10. In the second set too, the star Indian player was leading 18-14 at one stage after which Juliane made a spectacular comeback and bounced back to win the game 21-19. Juliane won seven of the last eight points in the second game and proved her worth as a world class player. Both the players showed great aggression in the decider and displayed a superb show of stamina and strength. Saina, who won several points off her cross court forehand smash, edged past her opponent 11-8 in the third and the final game. Saina gave a 2-0 lead to her team by winning the second match after Ajay Jayaram comprehensively defeated Pune Pistons’ Tien Minh Nguyen 21-17, 21-11.