Sydney: India’s campaign in the $750,000 (Dh2.75 million) Australian Open Superseries ended as world No. 1 women’s singles star Saina Nehwal was outplayed 15-21, 13-21 by China’s Wang Shixian in the quarter-finals here on Friday.
Defending champion Saina failed to produce her best game at the Sydney Olympic Park and was outplayed in 42 minutes by former world No. 1 Wang, who also equalled her head-to-head record against the 25-year-old Hyderabadi at 6-6.
The first game was a neck-to-neck affair till the five-point mark, when Wang started to show that she was the better shuttler on the day. Wang’s good show was matched by Saina to some extent, but the Chinese was better on the attack and got ahead before the Indian got into groove and equalised at 14-14.
But Wang’s flawless game not only pressurised Saina but also gave her six straight points that gave her a 21-15 win in the first game.
At the start of the second game, 2010 Asian Games champion Wang continued her dominance and held a 6-3 lead before Saina levelled at 8-8. London Olympic bronze medallist Saina managed to hold a one-point lead at 10-9 before Wang was able to break away by taking five points on the trot.
Wang, bronze medallist in the 2010 World Championships, raced away to an invincible 18-11 lead as the 25-year-old Chinese collected four consecutive points against Saina, who made a lot of judgement errors.
After Saina bagged two straight points, a ruthless Wang shut the door on Saina’s title defence by killing off the game with three straight points to win the game 21-13.
In the semi-final on Saturday, world No. 6 Wang will face world No. 12 South Korean Bae Yeon-ju, who overcame Canadian Michell Li with a 21-8, 17-21, 21-10 victory.
-IANS
