News Sports

Saina’s run ends with loss to Tai Tzu Ying at All England

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 37-minute quarterfinal clash.

Saina is now 5-15 in Head-to-Head career record with Tzu-Ying and it was her 13th straight defeat against the Taiwanese, who has not lost to the Indian since 2015.

Tzu-Ying, who had retired at the Hong Kong Open last year due to a waist injury, seemed to have recovered well as she went about her job with consummate ease at the Arena Birmingham.

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, perhaps due to the bout of diarrhea ahead of the event, 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 in the Taiwanese favour.

Dear Readers,
As an independent media platform, we do not take advertisements from governments and corporate houses. It is you, our readers, who have supported us on our journey to do honest and unbiased journalism. Please contribute, so that we can continue to do the same in future.

Related posts