Marin steals semi-final slot from luckless Newhal

Dubai: Carolina Marin and Chen Long, the number one ranked players in the world, took different routes to the semi-finals at the BWF Dubai World Superseries Finals as Indian superstar Saina Nehwal narrowly failed to qualify after a dramatic day’s play at the Hamdan Sports Complex.

Marin suffered her second defeat in successive days, losing 21-9, 21-15 to Japanese sensation Nozomi Okuhara but still reached the knock-out phase of the tournament on a superior game difference.

Spaniard Marin, Nehwal and defending champion Tai Tzu Ying, who overwhelmed Nehwal 16-21, 21-18, 21-14 on Friday, all finished the round-robin stage of the tournament with two defeats each, but Marin went through having lost one game less than the Indian.

Tai Tzu, despite playing some grinding, physical badminton that was enthralling in its relentlessness after she had dropped the first game to the higher-ranked Nehwal, had lost more games to both her Group A rivals.

“My legs felt heavy and I just could not move well on court,” said a disappointed Nehwal, who only 24 hours earlier had beaten Marin. “Obviously you need to be at your best, physically, when playing against a tricky and deceptive opponent like Tai Tzu, but I wasn’t. Clearly I was feeling the toll of playing a hard match like I had against Carolina on Thursday.

“Overall I’m happy with my performance because I’m still not one hundred per cent fit, having not trained for the last three weeks, and after my opening day’s defeat to Nozomi I did not expect to be playing for a place in the semi-finals. So I’m pretty pleased with how I played the whole week.”

Tai Tzu said that she did not have a strategy against Nehwal but relied on her instincts.

“I think I play my best badminton when I don’t think too much about what to do against a particular opponent,” she said. “So I just went out and did my best. I felt motivated to pick up my game after losing the first game and as I began to find the range and pick up the shuttle I grew in confidence. She’s a top class player so this win means a lot to me.”

Okuhara, who stands just five feet one inch tall but is a naturally gifted player, has stamped herself as the one to beat in the tournament.

Despite her up-and-down performances in Dubai this week, Marin has had a fantastic year, not only defending her World Championship title in August and clinching the number one spot, but also for her haul of Superseries titles on the tour this year.

Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon led the way to the women’s semi-finals from Group B following her 21-14, 21-19 win against Wang Shixian, the former world number one from China.

Wang Yihan, a former world champion who was beaten 21-14, 21-19 on Friday, had already qualified in this group, with two three-game wins.

Meanwhile Chen Long, was joined by world number two Kento Momota from Japan and the Danes, Jan Jorgensen and Viktor Axelsen in the men’s semi-finals.

Chen, one of the tallest players on the tour at six feet two inches, twice bounced back from 8-10 and 1-14 down in the first game to take control of the match. He attacked relentless on both flanks to put pressure on Jorgensen who had no answer to the Chinese giant’s superiority.

Results:

Men’s Singles

Group A

Chen Long (China) beat Jan O Jorgensen (Denmark) 21-14, 21-17; Tian Houwei (China) beat Hu Yun (Hong Kong) 21-19, 21-10.

Group B

Chou Tien Chen (Chinese Taipei) beat K Srikkanth (India) 21-17, 21-13; Kento Momota (Japan) beat Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) 19-21, 21-15, 21-15.

Women’s Singles

Group A

Nozomi Okuhara (Japan) beat Carolina Marin (Spain) 21-9, 21-15; Tai Tzu Ying (Chinese Taipei) beat Saina Nehwal (India) 16-21, 21-18, 21-14.

Group B

Sung Ji Hyun (Korea) beat Wang Yihan (China) 21-14, 21-11; Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) beat Wang Shixian (China) 21-14, 21-19.