Birmingham: Saina Nehwal’s dismal run against nemesis Tai Tzu-Ying continued as she suffered yet another defeat against the Taiwanese to crash out of the USD 1 million All England Championship, here on Friday.
A former finalist, Saina couldn’t find answers to the deceptive strokeplay of the World No 1 Taiwanese, going down 15-21 19-21 in the quarterfinal clash.
“I had my chances but I got tied up in the last two points,” Saina said.
“My coach was saying ‘make it slower’, but when you are on the edge of winning a game you tend to get a little more hurried up and I made that mistake again, it cost me the second set.
It was Saina’s 13th straight defeat against the Taiwanese, who has not lost to the Indian since 2015.
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 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. (PTI)
