Porntip Buranaprasertsuk takes the last two points quickly to close the door on Saina Nehwal with a 21-16, 19-21, 21-14 win.
And she is slowly inching towards the finish line as she makes it 19-14
The Thai builds on her lead to go up 18-14.
The Thai goes up 16-13. Time is running out. Can Saina stage an improbable comeback once more?
Saina needs to summon the same fighting spirit and courage she showed in the latter stages of Game 2. The Thai is right now ahead 15-11.
On resumption, the Thai grabs two points to take a lead of 13-10.
At the mid-game interval, it is the Thai who has the advantage, albeit a slim one, as she leads 11-10
The game is all even once more as they are locked at 10-10
But the Thai takes a quick couple of points to lead 9-8
Saina grabs the lead yet again to surge ahead 8-7. Can she hold on to it this time?
The early stages are now expectedly very competitive and the Thai has a very slim edge of 6-5
The Thai too is fighting back and makes it even at 4-4
Game 3
Nehwal starts the third game with the same aggressive intent and leads 3-2.
The start to the decider will be critical. Saina cannot afford to lose a string of points.
From trailing 4-11 at the mid-game break to taking the second game 21-19, Saina Nehwal never ceases to amaze!
And Saina Nehwal is BACK!!!!!! She takes the second game 21-19.
And the turnaround is HERE! Nehwal has the lead for the first time in this game as she goes up 19-18
Once more, Nehwal has reduced the deficit to just one point as she now trails 16-17.
Nehwal now trails 14-16. Credit to the Thai too for not making it easy for Saina.
And she makes it 13-14 now. The lioness in Saina Nehwal has showed up!
Saina has closed the gap and made it 8-11. The fightback is definitely ON!
It's an uphill task now but never count Saina Nehwal out! She has always been a fighter and she will not bow out without giving it her all. Currently, the Indian trails 8-12
As Saina is trying her best to get back into competitive mode, the Thai makes the most of it and goes into the mid-game break with a solid 11-4 lead.
The Thai builds on her lead to surge ahead 7-2.
Saina might have lost but not before reminding the world what a fighter she still is! This was her very first match after three months of hiatus that saw her having a knee surgery. If this is the start, then surely better things are to come soon and she won't take long to get back to where she belongs!