Sport - Badminton

Saina loses thrilling semifinal

Kuala Lumpur: Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal played her heart out but eventually ran out of steam against World No. 6 Chen Wang of Hong Kong losing in the semifinals of the World Super Series Masters here on Saturday.

The World No. 10 Indian, drained after playing non-stop for the past two days, couldn’t match the experience of her third seed opponent and went down 21-15, 14-21, 16-21.

Saina conceded that fatigue was evident in her performance. “My match ended very late last night and I was kind of exhausted after that and this tiredness reflected in this match.

“In the last game I could not carry on with the long rallies which eventually cost me the match,” Saina said.

However, the youngster was not disappointed with her performance, saying that she gave her 100 per cent to match her fancied rival shot for shot.

“It was not that she was playing too well and I was not able to match up with her. In the first game I had the lead all through. In the second, she bounced back and held the lead and by the third game we both were very tired.

“She had some good backhand half smashes, which helped her gather three or four crucial points. In the third game, she was in the lead at 14-9 but I played some good strokes and reduced it to 14-13 but then a few mistakes on my part helped her to wrap up the match,” said the National champion.

“With the sort of form and stamina that I have right now, I feel it is just a matter of time before I win more titles. My next target is the upcoming super series titles of 2009. I hope to do well,” she said. — PTI

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