2013 Malaysia Open: Saina Nehwal fails to proceed as Tai Tzu Ying succeeds in semi-final round
Women’s Singles expert Saina Nehwal of India could not continue her successful run in Maybank Malaysia Open and crashed out of the semi-final round on January 19, 2013.
She had better odds against Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei but she proved all the predictions wrong in this crucial match.
Both contenders faced each other in local badminton arena of Kuala Lumpur and this encounter remained in full swing for 35 minutes.
Though, World Number two Saina played impeccable badminton in the beginning but she failed to show consistency in her performance and surrendered after reading 20-22 and 14-21 margin.
On the other hand, the young but spirited Taipei campaigner played with great conviction and locked the honour in a commendable manner.
The battle heated up immediately in the beginning as both female shuttlers made every effort to gain an early advantage.
They snapped at each other’s heels and did not allow the opponent to establish a comfortable lead. This nerve-racking tussle continued until 7-6 but then Tzu Ying prevailed in four consecutive rallies and piled up a mountainous figure of 11.
After the mid-game break, the Indian shuttler picked up her speed and narrowed the gap on points table.
Saina gathered some valuable points at steady pace and brought life back into the contest. She displayed great fighting spirit in the final stage but luck was not on her side as she had to kneel down after reading 20-22 score.
The following game was also played in similar manner as both contenders remained equal in the beginning and kept the audience intact until half time.
However, the latter part of the game was completely dominated by the Taipei female shuttler. Tzu Ying unleashed a flurry of productive strokes in third quarter of the set and sealed a splendid straight-set victory.
Meanwhile, Saina looked completely out of touch as she dropped many valuable points in practice match manner. She kept on making fatal mistakes which ultimately led her to a woeful defeat with 14-21 total.
This was end of road for the Indian badminton queen whereas Tzu Ying paved path to grand finale of Malaysia Open.
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