Saina, Kashyap lose as hosts’ campaign ends before semi-finals; Chinese girls dominate
They had to punch above their weight but both Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kahyap weren't up to the big challenges on Friday and as a result Indian challenge, ironically, ended at the Yonex Sunrise India Open before the pen-ultimate stage here at the Siri Fort Sports Complex.
Saina was facing world number two Yihan Wang, the Indian ace was trailing 1-7 before the quarter-final against the Chinese opponent but Friday was not the day for her to pull one back as Saina kept trailing during the entire match and never looked like winning, coming second best with 16-21, 14-21.
In the first game, Yihan took an early 10-7 lead and used her deceptions and sharpness to play some delectable drop shots to widen the gap to 18-12 before winning 21-16.
The story wasn't very different in the second part of the match. Saina trailed 1-4 in the beginning and that gap rose to 4-11. Few poor line judgements coupled with some average shot selection made it 18-9 in favour of Yihan and Saina's struggle ended at the score of 16.
"It was a tough match as I was playing world number two. It was a learning experience for me. I played well as compared to my previous matches and it shows that I am improving. I went for big shots but I feel I should have played it a little safe and should not have allowed her to take the lead every time. I need to improve my net-play and work on my fitness and I believe it should take me two months," the london Olympics bronze medallist said.
Yihan, who had also defeated the Indian world number eighth in the 2012 Olympics and improved her career head-to-head with the Hyderabadi to 8-1, said that she was confident of a win going into the match.
"I was confident going into the game because I had a good one-to-one record against her. I was determined to play well and soaked-up all the pressure. I don't have any injuries and am feeling well about my game," the former world number one said using a translator.
Meanwhile, the women's singles' semi-finals will be an all-Chinese affair as apart from Yihan, li Xuerui, liu Xin and Shixian Wang also crossed the quarters hurdle.
lee downs Kashyap
In the men's side, world number one lee Chong Wei dictated terms during his 40-minutes encounter against the world number 23 Kashyap and ensured that he had an easy outing despite a valiant Kashyap trying to pressurise him with some regal cross-court smashes. The Malaysian Chong Wei was too good an opponent to be influenced by Kashyap's grit as the Malaysian played to his strength and won 21-15, 21-13.
The two-time Olympics silver medallist started on a strong note with a 10-6 lead in the first game but Kashyap pulled things back and closed the gap with some impressive stroke-play. He got help from his opponent's unforced errors to be at 14-15. But then, Chong Wei, against the wishes of a supportive home crowd took six quick points to walk away with the game 21-15.
In the second game, after the initial moments where the score was locked at 2-2, the 31-year lee Chong relied on his rhythm and unbelievable agility collect 15 points on trot. A 21-13 from there on was like a walk in the park.
"I am enjoying my game. I am very happy with the way I played today. I am getting good support from the local Indian crowd," Chong Wei told reporters after his win.
Kashyap, who conceded fourth match in as many matches to the Malaysian legend said that he played a good game and matched his opponent's but failed to maintain the momentum throughout.
"It was a very good match. I scored few winners but made few errors as well. He is very fast and I matched his pace but was unable to sustain it throughout the match. My smashes were working today and I even returned some of the smashes as well. But, there were few mistakes in my movement after retrieving his smashes and against a class player like him, one can't afford to do that. But, as compared to my last outing against him I played much better today," the former world number six told media persons.
Also advancing to the men's singles semi-finals were world number two Chen long, Pengyu Du and Jan O Jorgensen.