'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Indian badminton star Saina Nehwal’s impressive run in the Dubai Superseries Finals came to a halt in the semi-final against Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taiwan. Tai reached her second consecutive Superseries Finals final after beating Nehwal 11-21, 21-13, 21-9 in a thrilling three-set match.
Nehwal was on the back of three consecutive round robin wins, and looked to continue her stellar display in the semi-final. But the World No. 4 somehow succumbed to defeat after a perfect start to the match.
Dream start for Saina Nehwal
Nehwal started the match on the front foot, winning the first four points with ease. There were several Indians in Dubai who made the most of the opportunity of seeing the third ranked player in action. Nehwal didn’t disappoint, holding a comfortable lead against Tai in the opening stages.
Nehwal was able to get her smashes in the corners but was largely helped by a number of unforced errors by the 20-year-old Chinese. The youngster was clearly feeling the pressure, and Nehwal instantly capitalized on it. The 24-year-old went into the break with a healthy lead of 11-5 points.
It was the same story after the break with Nehwal extending her lead by ten points to go ahead 15-5. The Hyderabadi shuttler kept the aggression going, not allowing Tai to find her way back into the set. She finally closed out the first set with a deft drop shot, winning 21-11.
Rollercoaster second set
The second set started off in a similar fashion as the first, with Nehwal racing a 4-0 lead. As the Indian’s confidence kept increasing, the Chinese started looking a little bit more demoralised after every point.
But Tai, who reached Superseries Finals last year, suddenly found her feet once again. Against the run of play, Tai took seven points on the trot to go 7-4 in the lead. The momentum had drastically shifted in favour of the 2014 Asian Games bronze medallist who went in to the second set break with an 11-6 lead.
The short break looked to have done more good for the Indian than the Chinese. Nehwal quickly reduced the deficit and eventually got back level at 12-12. However, once again the tide turned with Tai picking up five straight points to go 17-12 in the lead.
The lead was enough for Tai to level the match at 1-1, as she won the set 21-13.
Tai Tzu Ying transforms momentum into victory
The third set started with a couple unforced errors from Nehwal as she trailed by five points. At 2-7 down, Nehwal hit an excellent smash to win a point. The Indian knew she needed more of those, but unfortunately she was not able to replicate her first set form. She found herself 3-14 down and looked completely deflated in the final few points. Tai closed out the set 21-9, winning a tightly contested match in a little over 53 minutes.
Final score: Tai Tzu Ying beat Saina Nehwal 11-21, 21-13, 21-9.
