On a Super Sunday, the Indian shuttlers raided the dragon's lair and came out conquerors. In what will go down as a red-lettered day for Indian badminton, Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal cornered glory at the China Open Super Series Premier in Fuzhou. This is the first time that Indian players have won both the men's and women's singles at a major tournament.
Srikanth accounted for the invisible Lin Dan, considered the best ever shuttler on the planet, in straight games 21-19, 21-17 to lift the men's singles title, Saina made short work of Akane Yamaguchi of Japan 21-12, 22-20 to claim her maiden crown in China. “I did it. I beat him. Very very happy to beat such a great player. I don't know what to say,” said Srikanth, who gave a perfect birthday gift for his coach Pullela Gopichand. In a contest billed between David vs Goliath, Srikanth donned the role of the former to perfection as he kept his composure and attacked when it mattered most to finish of the giant. Popularly known as Super Dan, for his exploits on the badminton court, the five-time world and two-time Olympic champion was left dumbstruck as the youngster launched an all out attack right from the start. Known for his unorthodox style of play, Srikanth showed no nerves as he worked out the Chinese superstar. Playing before the ever-demanding home crowd and carrying the hopes of millions of Chinese, Dan had a huge responsibility on his shoulders as he was the only local player left in the singles. But perhaps for the first time the legend failed to deliver as Srikanth built upon the early momentum, reached on top of net for the tosses and executed ferocious smashes whenever he got a chance. Srikanth took an early lead in the first game and was leading 9-4. Though Dan reduced the margin and moved ahead to 19-17, Srikanth silenced him with a four-point burst. Perturbed by this, Dan played with a lot of caution in the second game and there was very little to separate between the two till the 15th point. It was here Srikanth broke free as he first moved to 17-15 and then to 20-16 before notching up the biggest victory of his career. Earlier, Nehwal won her third title of year without breaking a sweat. Nehwal was in full flow in the first game as she raced to a 15-7 lead in no time. She saved a game point at 19-20 before shutting out the opponent with three straight points.
