All England Open: Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth Knocked Out In Quarter-Finals
All England Open: Saina Nehwal knocked out after losing to World No.1 Tai Tzu Ying in straight games.
Highlights
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Saina Nehwal lost 15-21, 19-21 to World No.1 Tai Tzu Ying in quarters
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She had rallied her way to a 8-21 21-16 21-13 win on Thursday
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Kidambi Srikanth lost to World No.1 Kento Momota of Japan
India's campaign concluded at the All England Open 2019 badminton championships on Friday as Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal lost their respective quarter-final matches to crash out of the premier event. Saina Nehwal lost 15-21, 19-21 to World No.1 Tai Tzu Ying in the women's singles, while Kidambi Srikanth suffered a 12-21, 16-21 to World No.1 Kento Momota of Japan in men's singles. A 2015 finalist, Saina Nehwal was blown away by the Taiwanese shuttler in straight games in a 37-minute clash. The Indian shuttler is now 5-15 in head-to-head career record with Tzu-Ying and it was her 13th straight defeat against the Taiwanese, who has not lost to Saina Newal since 2015.
Tzu-Ying, who had retired at the Hong Kong Open last year due to a waist injury, seemed to have recovered well as she went about her job with consummate ease at the Arena Birmingham.
Tzu-Ying's arsenal of strokes was in full display as she rushed to a 11-3 lead. Saina produced two superb drops and won nine of the next 12 points to narrow the equation to 12-14.
Tzu-Ying then came out with a flurry of her magical strokes to move to 20-13 and sealed it comfortably.
In the second game, Saina enjoyed a five-point cushion at 8-3 in the second game after husband Parupalli Kashyap pleaded her to play disciplined badminton.
Some exceptional strokes helped the Taiwanese to gather a few points but Saina ensured a 11-8 advantage at the interval.
The Indian tried to keep Tzu-Ying at the backline with her deep tosses but fatigue, perhaps due to the bout of diarrhea ahead of the event, affected her.
Tzu-Ying's deceptive strokes often left Saina wrong-footed as she moved ahead of the Indian to 17-15. Saina made it 19-19 with a successful line call. But two precise returns on the Indian's backhand ended the match in the Taiwanese favour.Â
The Indian shuttler had rallied her way to a 8-21 21-16 21-13 win over Denmark's Line Kjaersfeldt in a 51-minute contest on Thursday.
(With PTI inputs)