Saina staged a remarkable comeback in the second game to win the match 21-18, 23-21.
Gold Coast: Saina Nehwal defeated PV Sindhu in a pulsating contest to clinch her gold at 21st Commonwealth games at Gold Coast on Sunday. In the epic final Nehwal staged remarkable comeback in the second game to beat Sindhu 21-18, 23-21.
The match as expected was a closely fought contest, with Saina dominating Sindhu right from the first game and never allowed her to make comeback in the game. Saina kept Sindhu guessing with her drop shots at net and was in complete control of the match. It looked like she would take the first game with ease, but Sindhu staged a great comeback to narrow down the lead but Saina closed down the first game.
Second game was completely different as Sindhu, attacked right from the start and raced to 4-3 lead. Saina fought her way back and levelled the score at 4-4, but Sindhu was in no mood to let off the game easily as she raced to 11-8 lead at the interval.
The story was no different after the interval as Sindhu continued to take points at ease and stretched the lead, but Saina never dropped her shoulders and kept on fighting to get back into the game.
It looked like Sindhu will hang onto the lead and take the match into deciding set, but Saina, who was down by 3 points showed her class and staged a remarkable comeback and tie the game. The last two points were decided on the fact who keeps the nerve and it was Saina, who kept a calm head to win her second gold in the Commonwealth games.