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NEW DELHI: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal got a shot in the arm ahead of next month's Olympics as she lifted the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold title after rallying to beat Thailand's Ratchanok Inthanon in the final of the event in Bangkok on Sunday.
The 22-year-old world number five Indian beat Inthanon 19-21, 21-15, 21-10 at the CU Sport Complex in Bangkok for her second title of the year after the Swiss Open win in March.
The win will come as a massive boost to Saina's confidence ahead of Olympics in July-August.
The top seeded Indian was scratchy to start with but drew from her experience and superb maneuvering at the net to beat her second-seeded 17-year-old rival.
Saina was clearly the better of the two at net but it was Inthanon's seven smash winners against the Indian's one which made the decisive difference in the game.
The change of ends in the second game also brought with it a change in fortunes as Saina took the lead by drawing Inthanon to the net and forcing her to commit mistakes.
National coach Pullela Gopichand lauded Saina's performance and said she remained positive despite being down to start with.
Gopichand said the title has lifted Saina's spirits and she would be aiming to continue the form in next week's Indonesia Open.
"It is a very good victory and a very important one going into the next tournament which is in Indonesia. Hopefully, she will do well there and after that we will have five weeks of training for the Olympics, so overall a good victory for Saina," he said.
