India's campaign in the women's singles of the Hong Kong Super Series came to an end after ace shuttler Saina Nehwal was stunned by Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the quarterfinals on Friday
Hong Kong: Top Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal could not replicate her last week's China Open title win as she went down in straight games in the women's singles quarterfinals of the $350,000 Hong Kong Open Super Series here Friday.
Saina Nehwal
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The third seeded Hyderabadi was upset by Chinese Taipei's sixth seed Tai Tzu Ying 15-21, 19-21 in 39 minutes at the Hong Kong Coliseum. With the win, Tai bettered her career record to 3-5 against the World No.4 Saina.
Last time the two met, the Indian had defeated Ying in the semifinals of Swiss Open in 2013.
World No. 4 Saina, who recently won the title at China Open, looked pretty rusty today.
The girl from Hyderabad was a pale shadow of herself in the opening game before she fought back in the second, but
failed to make it to the next round.
Breaking away from a 2-2 tie in the first game, there was no looking back for the Taipei girl. She just kept on extending the lead, even as Saina played the catch-up game. Although Saina tried her best, she always trailed behind Ying, seeded sixth. By the end of the opening round, the Taipei girl had surged ahead wrapping it up 21-15.
The Olympic bronze medallist, however, pulled up her socks in the second game and came up with a much-improved
show. It turned out to be a closely fought affair as the game tilted from one end to another and the two shuttlers were tied at 19-19. But the World No. 9 Ying came up with two consecutive winners just when it mattered most to seal the issue in her favour, thereby making it to the semifinals.
Saina's compatriot Kidambi Srikanth, who also won in China Sunday, will play his men's singles quarterfinals later in the day against local shuttler Wei Nan.
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