Rio de Janeiro: India's premier shuttler Saina Nehwal on Sunday suffered a huge upset against World No.61 Marija Ulitina of Ukraine in her second match of Group G as she was eliminated of the Olympic Games here.
Ulitina, 24, caused a huge upset registering a 21-18, 21-19 win against the World No.5 and 2012 London Games bronze medallist Saina.
<img title="Saina Nehwal. Pic/ AFP" src="http://images.mid-day.com/images/2016/aug/14saina-nehwal.jpg" alt="Saina Nehwal. Pic/ AFP" /> Saina Nehwal. Pic/ AFP
The 26-year-old Indian, a top medal contender, failed to find her rhythm and looked slow as she was not moving well within the court. Saina also conceded a lot of points on misjudgement and was not able to retrieve once the shuttle moved behind her.
Saina started the first game in a dominating way building a 7-1 lead but the 24-year-old Ukrainian soon pulled up her socks levelling the game at 8-8.
Saina just edged past the mid-game interval with a two-point lead. After the interval there was a neck-to-neck fight for every point, levelling the score at 17-17 before the World No.61 took three point of trot.
Saina tried to fight back but Ulitina sealed the game 21-18 in 19 minutes at Pavillion Four of Riocentro.
In the second game, the Indian star shuttler barely managed a slender one-point lead at the mid-game interval.
The second game saw many tough shots and some thunderous body and diagonal smashes by Ulitina.
After the interval, things were equal at 15-15, 18-18 and 19-19 before the Ukrainian clinched two points and the match, ending the Indian's hopes.
P.V. Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth will also play their respective group stage matches.

India's premier shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Olympic Games losing to Marija Ulitina of Ukraine in her second match of Group G here on Sunday

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India's premier shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Olympic Games losing to Marija Ulitina of Ukraine in her second match of Group G here on Sunday

Rio 2016: Saina Nehwal crashes out of Olympics

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Home / Sports / Other Sports / Article / Rio 2016: Saina Nehwal crashes out of Olympics

Rio 2016: Saina Nehwal crashes out of Olympics

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