SYDNEY: India badminton ace Saina Nehwal received a huge boost ahead of the Rio Olympics as she defeated China's Sun Yu to clinch the Australian Open badminton title.
Saina defeated her Chinese rival 11-21, 21-14, 21-19 in the summit clash that lasted an hour and 11 minutes.
It is Saina's second Australian Open victory, having clinched the title in 2014 as well.
London Olympics bronze medallist, Saina, who had beaten two world champions -- Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon (2013) and China's Yihan Wang (2011) in the quarterfinals and semifinals --, thus clinched her maiden title of the season.
Saina had defeated Sun five times in the last five outings but she faced a tough challenge against the 22-year-old Chinese, who took just 18 minutes to wrap up the opening game at the Sydney Olympic Park.
Seven Indian shuttlers, including Saina and Jwala Gutta, officially earned qualification berths for the August Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro after the much-awaited BWF world rankings were released in May.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina will be representing India in her third Games.
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