Glasgow: A few hours after she had assured India of their second bronze medal in the Badminton World Championships, Saina Nehwal lost her semifinal encounter 12-21, 21-17, 21-10 to Japanese Nozomi Okuhara here Saturday.
Earlier late Friday night, Saina had defeated Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland 21-19, 18-21, 21-15 to become the second Indian to reach the last four stage. Reaching the semifinals automatically guarantees a player of winning a bronze and Saina became the second Indian after PV Sindhu to do so in the championships. The 2017 Badminton Worlds here turned out to be the best ever for Indian shuttlers as they have guaranteed two medals – the first time it has happened. Sindhu had won bronze in 2013 and 2014, while Saina had bagged a silver in the 2015 edition of the event at Jakarta.
Playing two tough matches seemed to have taken a toll on Saina’s physical prowess. At 27, she is not getting younger and it showed Saturday. After winning the first game comfortably, Saina simply faded away from the match.
Saina gave everything in a battle of attrition but Okuhara’s never-say-die attitude helped her to overcome the Indian in an energy-sapping 74-minute semifinal clash at the Emirates Arena. In the first game there were two rallies – one of 29 shots and the other of 32 – both of which Saina won. However, by the end of the first game, exhaustion was writ large on her face. She battled on bravely in the next two games, but in the third game it was quite apparent that the Indian did not have any gas left in her tank.
Earlier after winning her quarterfinal match, Saina, after almost a year, admitted that she should not have played at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She bowed out in the group stages of the competition there, a huge disappointment for the Indian badminton fans.
“I should not have gone to Rio,” Saina had stated after her match against Gilmour. “It was a huge mistake. I had no idea of how grave my injury was at that time. I could have aggravated it and it could have ended my career,” she added.
Rejuvenated now, Saina said that it is because of her coach and parents that she is back on court. “I still have tendonitis in the (right) knee. I am still going through rehab. It is because of the faith and belief that my coach and parents have in me, I am back again,” Saina informed.
Well before this tournament began, no one was ready to consider Saina as a medal prospect. Well she has proved her critics wrong again. It has been a bittersweet event for Saina. Sweet because she beat all odds to win bronze, bitter because she failed to convert it into silver or gold. But then she has proved that she still has some fire left in her belly.
Quarterfinals: Saina Nehwal bt Kirsty Gilmour 21-19, 18-21, 21-15
Semifinals: Saina Nehwal lost to Nozomi Okuhara 12-21, 21-17, 21-10
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