Indonesia Masters | Saina Nehwal loses to Tai Tzu Ying, settles for silver

The match was lob-sided from the very beginning as Ying jumped to a 10-2 lead early on in the game. Though the Indian shuttler salvaged a hard-earned point following a dominating rally, the Chinese Taipei star entered the break with a comfortable 11-3 lead. 

Despite Saina making a comeback post break to garner few points, it didn’t unsettle a calm Tai Tzu in any way whatsoever. And she proved it by emerging victorious at the end an enthralling 43-shot rally to lead the game 14-7. Saina’s misery was further compounded by her unforced errors as Tai moved into 18-9 within no time before winning three straight points to seal the first game 21-9.

However, an out of steam Saina was making weak returns now and Ying capitalized on them to lead 11-5 at the break. While her attempt to stop Ying with high serves worked to a certain extent, the recurring service errors didn’t allow her to get back into the game as Ying extended her lead to 16-9. It was just a matter of time before Ying was walking off the court as the victor and she eventually sealed the game 21-13.