Saina Nehwal Crashes Out of Hong Kong Open Badminton
Saina Nehwal, third seed, lost 21-15, 21-19 to sixth seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinal of the Hong Kong Open.
Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Hong Kong Open after losing her quarter-finals match to Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei on Friday.
Saina, who won the China Open Super Series on Sunday, was beaten 21-15, 21-19 by Tzu Ying at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Kowloon.
The Indian, who was seeded 3rd, lost to her opponent in 39 minutes. In seven previous meetings, Saina had a 5-2 lead over Ying but failed to extend her domination.
Saina was a pale shadow of herself in the first game. Breaking away from a 2-2 tie, there was no looking back for Tzu Ying. She just kept on extending the lead, even as Saina tried to catch. After conceding the first game 21-15, Saina fought back in the second game.
The closely-fought second game was approaching a tense finish as the two were tied on 19-all. However, Tzu Ying went on to hold her nerves and clinch the game 21-19, knocking Saina out of the tournament.
Saina had a great chance to clinch back-to-back Super Series titles after Chinese top seed Shixian Wang and second seed Wang Yihan has lost their matches. But Ying spoilt Saina's plans.
(With inputs from PTI)