Press Trust of India
Kuala Lumpur, April 4: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal will lose her World no. 1 ranking after her gallant fight against Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the semifinals ended in heartbreak at the USD 5,00,000 Malaysia Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament, here Saturday.
World No.1 Saina squandered a one-game advantage as she lost 21-13, 17-21, 20-22 to World No. 3 Li in a gruelling semifinal that lasted one hour and eight minutes at Putra Stadium. This was Saina’s ninth defeat in 11 outings against Li.
Saina became the World No. 1 for winning the India Open last week. A semifinal finish here will give her 7,700 points but Li reaching the final means the Chinese will regain her No. 1 ranking.
Saina started the match on a confident note as she broke off at 6-6 to gradually increase the lead with straight bursts of points. The Indian led 11-6 at the break and soon moved to 15-7 after the interval. Li’s movement seemed to be a little slow, probably due to the injury she suffered in her right knee. The Indian pocketed the game comfortably.
The second game was a close contest as lead changed hands often after Saina had a narrow 3-1 advantage. Both players were engaged in long rallies and at one stage Saina led 17-15. But then Li reeled off six straight points to win the game and restore parity.
In the decider, Saina grabbed an early 12-7 lead but Li used her height and reach to good effect and soon reeled off five straight points to catch up with the Indian. It then turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller as Saina and Li fought tooth and nail for each point. Saina was 19-18 up but Li eventually showed better nerves in a battle of attrition to grab a place at the finals.
