Dubai: Saina Nehwal entered the court at the Hamdan Sports Complex with a 4-0 head-to-head record against Japan's Nozomi Okuhara. A scant 35 minutes later, that formidable record lay in tatters as the diminutive 20-year-old Japanese handed the former World No 1 the kind of thrashing that only occurs in the worst of nightmares.


India's Saina Nehwal returns to Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in Dubai yesterday. Pic/AFP 

The 21-14, 21-6 scoreline in Okuhara's favour in the Group 'A' encounter left the 'Saina squad' — a dozen-strong group of badminton enthusiasts flown into Dubai by a TV channel for the express purpose of cheering the Indian star — utterly disconsolate.