Awadhe Warriors go up the points table after absolutely axing Delhi Acers 6: (-1)
AWADHE WARRIORS hand the defending champions Delhi Acers another humiliating loss, a 6- (-1) defeat. The Warriors performing like the dominating side just as expected. It was a collective team effort from the Warriors that helped them go up the points table with 11 points to their name.
The first match to begin the tie was between men's doubles. Goh V Shem/Markis Kido were up against Vladimir Ivanov/Akshay Dewalkar. The Kido/Shem combination was yet again proving to be productive for the Warriors. They took the first game 11-4 without much trouble. It was a similar situation in the second game and so was the score-line.
Kido/Shem put their team in the lead 1-0. Then it was Saina Nehwal's turn and the crowd went berserk when she came on court. She was also playing the trump match for the Warriors. As expected this was nerve wrecking match for all Saina fans. Initially in the game, her pace was down as Jindapol ran with points to lead at the interval. But after the short break, Saina made a great comeback to keep it neck-to-neck contest.
Coming back each time, Saina made it difficult for Jindapol and then went on to win the first game 14-12. The second game, Saina looked determined to get back as she wanted to get back after her opening match loss. Though Jindapol once again was leading at the interval, Saina paved her way back and dominated towards the end and won the trump match for her team, 11-7.
“Lucknow has always been a great venue for and I am very happy to be here and win the match. I am pleased that I have been able to win the trump match and help my team take the advantage. I felt I played very good and it is actually satisfying to have such a great win after a long time,” Saina said after the match.
“Jindapol is a very great player and has always given me a tough fight every time we played. It was same today but I am happy to have won the match. I look forward to play against in the future again,” added Saina.
This put the Warriors in a formidable lead of 3-0. Another exciting match followed, the men's singles between Kidambi Srikanth and Jan O Jorgensen. Srikanth played like a champ, he dominated the match throughout though he lost the second game. Jorgensen was under immense pressure as the team's result depended on him.
Srikanth won the first game 11-9, the Dane got back in the second, winning 13-11. The final game, a close contest but Srikanth the dominant shuttler on court won the final game 11-9 and the tie for his team.
This win sealed the tie for the Warriors as they held the lead of 4-0 with two matches to be played. Then came the mixed doubles match that was played between Savitree Amritapai/Bodin Issara playing Ivanov/Jwala Gutta. A closely contested first game, Jwala/Ivanov got back in the game toward the end of first half therefore it wasn't enough for them.
Few errors costing the Acers first game, 10-12 it went in favour of the Warriors. The second game saw once again saw Bodin/Savitree in a comfortable position as Ivanov just looked out of place. And they went on with the game, 11-5.
Every loss put Delhi in a pit which they found very difficult to get out of it. Nothing working in their favour. This win added to the Acers' misery, the Warriors leading 5-0.
The final match of the tie was the trump for Delhi as Son Wan Ho was up against Vincent. As commanding as Son started just to save his team from humiliation, Vincent came on court with a never-give-up attitude.
And with that, Vincent had a sensational comeback to win the first game 11-8. Acers were on the verge of another negative point defeat and Vincent did exactly that. He won the second with more ease 11-6.
Losing the trump meant that Delhi Acers lost one point and after yet another humiliating defeat they are out of the semi-final contention.
The Warriors trumping the Acers 6- (-1). They face another unbeaten team in the league, Mumbai Rockets tomorrow in the final home tie.
Get the latest in the world of Sports, Teams, and Players! Free Delivery to your Inbox.
