Power outage during Saina Nehwal's match causes moment of chaos at India Open 2023

New Delhi: It was a moment of chaos in the match between Saina Nehwal and Mia Blichfeldt as the lights went off in the final and deciding game at Indira Gandhi Stadium on Tuesday evening.

In the final game of a tense match where Saina and Mia were fighting for a win, the lights went off in the centre court during a crucial rally, leaving everyone including fans, players and officials confused.

What happened exactly?

Battling it out in a tense game, Saina Nehwal played a beautiful net block and it went just inside the line when the lights went off. While the fans were amused and started chanting 'Saina, Saina' with their flashlights in their hand, her opponent was protesting the point.

Talking about the incident after the match, Saina told the media, "I had no idea what happened there. I played the shot and thought it has gone wide but then I heard Mia protesting against the point. That was just inside the line."

It was similar for everyone present there. When the scoreboard flashed a point in favour of Saina, the crowd had their flashlights on while chanting her name.

Another beautiful moment with fans

In a match which extended past the hour mark, Saina Nehwal expressed her gratitude to the fans by throwing a racquet towards her fans.

Talking about playing in front of her home fans, Saina said, "It is always special to play in front of a crowd which loves cheering for you. They act as the catalyst for our motivation. I have been playing in front of them since the 2010 Commonwealth Games and it has always been special."

All the Indian fans enjoyed immense support from the home crowd on a weekday in the national capital. Saina Nehwal will next play world number 3 Chen Yu Fei of China.