Malaysia Masters Final Highlights: Saina Nehwal wins title with 22-20, 22-20 win over Pornpawee Chochuwong

What immense will power to come back so soon and win a GPG. Congrats @NSaina. You are truly a warrior and a great role model @OGQ_India

— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) January 22, 2017

Just 5 months after knee surgery @NSaina wins Malaysia GPG. Glad @OGQ_India cud facilitate surgery n be thr for her when she needed it most

— Viren Rasquinha (@virenrasquinha) January 22, 2017

Well done Saina congrats @NSaina

— Harvir Singh (@NHarvir) January 22, 2017

Berjalan ketat sepanjang pertandingan, Saina Nehwal sukses meraih Gelar Juara #MalaysiaGPG. Kalahkan Porpawee 22-20, 22-20 di Final. pic.twitter.com/ye3uWbEDkV

— Antonius Agustian (@antoagustian) January 22, 2017

.@awadhewarrior's Saina Nehwal starts 2017 on a high! Wins the #MalaysiaGPG final in a hard-fought match. Well done! pic.twitter.com/e68gRB2ATv

— Premier Badminton League (@PBLIndiaLive) January 22, 2017

Saina Nehwal begins 2017 on a winning note

After a largely disappointing and injury-curtailed 2016, India’s badminton star has begin the new year with the Malaysian Masters title. 
Her victory indicates that Saina is getting back to her best after her knee surgey and rehabilitation.

.@NSaina is champion in Malaysia!!! Wins 22-20, 22-20 against Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand!!! Proud to support you Saina!!!!🏸🥇🙂

— OGQ (@OGQ_India) January 22, 2017

Indian masterclass! Saina Nehwal wins the #MalaysiaGPG and starts 2017 with a bang! Way to go champ! 👏👏👏 pic.twitter.com/sbCPBvdEf3

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) January 22, 2017

Saina Nehwal wins!

Indian star beats Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong 22-20, 22-20 in a closely-fought final to clinch the trophy.

Saina Nehwal just two points away from winning the final, leading 19-16

Saina Nehwal leads 17-14 in the second game even as Pornpawee Chochuwong puts up a tough fight

It is neck to neck between these two now. @NSaina takes a slender lead of 13-12. #MalaysiaGPG

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) January 22, 2017

Saina Nehwal takes on Pornpawee Chochuwong in the final

​The Indian starts on a winning note against the Thai teen in the Malaysia Masters final, winning the first game 22-20.

A facile win for Saina in the end. Reaching the final of the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold is is an extremely positive result for her, given that her progress was stymied last year due to injury.

That’s it from us this evening. Don’t forget to catch our live updates from the women’s singles final tomorrow, and don’t forget to cheer for Saina. Till then, it’s goodbye.

Complete domination from Saina Nehwal as she eases into the finals of #MalaysiaGPG! All the best for the final! pic.twitter.com/MnWPrza2fG

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) January 21, 2017

Saina enters the final. She wins her semi-final match against Yip Pui Yin 21-13, 21-10. It was a relatively easy outing for her in the end.

Saina is leading 17-10 in the second game of the women’s singles semi-final. At this rate she looks to win the match at a canter.

A sizzling cross court smash by Saina gives her a healthy 11-5 lead at the break in the second game of the women’s singles semi-final.

This is complete domination from @NSaina! Pui Yin Yip has no answer here! Leads 6-0. #MalaysiaGPG

— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) January 21, 2017

Saina has raced to a 6-0 lead in second game of women’s singles semi-final. She wants to end this early, it seems.

Saina wins 6 points in a row to win the first game of women’s singles 21-13. The ace Indian shuttler is showing her class.

It’s neck and neck in the first game of the women’s singles. Saina leads 15-13. It looks like this match will go down to the wire.

Pui Yin leads Saina 11-9 at the interval in the first game of the women’s singles semi-final.

Pui Yin leads 9-6 in the first game. Nothing much separates the two players still.

Pui Yin has built up an 8-5 lead in the first game. It is a real see-saw battle.

Pui Yin is catching up after losing the first few points and now it is 4-4 in the first game.

Pui Yin wins the first point against Saina in the women’s singles semi-final, but the Indian ace comes right back and restores parity.

Saina Nehwal had a disappointing outing in the 2016 Rio Olympics, and playing with an injured knee, she lost to the much-lower ranked Maria Ulitina. She appeared in the China Open thereafter, losing out in the first round itself to Porntip Buranaprasertsuk. She, however, did better in the Hong Kong and Macau Opens later in the year, reaching the quarter-finals in both tournaments. She lost to Cheung Ngan Yi in Hong Kong and to Zhang Yiman in Macau. She subsequently said that she was not 100 percent fit for the Hong Kong and Macau events, but wanted to test herself against the top players of the world. 

She then appeared in the Premier Badminton League (PBL), turning out for the Awadhe Warriors. Saina’s semi-final clash against Rio silver medallist PV Sindhu was one of the matches of the tournament, and it went right down to the wire. Saina eventually lost, but not before enthralling the crowd. Saina beat World No 3 Ji Hyun Sung in the tournament, but was defeated by world and Olympic champion Carolina Marin.     

Hello and welcome to Firstpost’s live coverage of the high-octane semi-final between Saina Nehwal and Yip Pui Yin in the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold tournament in Sarawak, Malaysia on Saturday.