Saina falters in quarter-final of Korea Open

Seoul, Jan 11 (IANS): World No.3 shuttler Saina Nehwal faltered once again in the women’s singles quarter-final of the $1 million Korea Open Super Series Premier against Li Han of China here Friday.

The unseeded Li won her first match against Saina in three meetings here at the S.K. Handball Stadium. Li won 21-14, 15-21, 21-12 in 59 minutes, preventing Saina from bettering her record in the tournament where she also lost in the quarter-final in 2012.

Both players started aggressively in the first game winning equal number of points till 8-all. Thereon, the World No.26 put her foot down and clinched the game with the help of some clear winners.

India’s third seed fought back in the next game to level the match. Her smashes and deft touches at the net helped her at the crucial junctures.

In the third game, though Li went into a healthy lead at the beginning (12-5), the Hyderabadi climbed back into the match and narrowed the scoreline down to 13-11.

However, the Chinese forced Saina to commit errors, extending the rallies, and won the next eight of the nine points played to bag the match and book a place in the semi-finals where she will next face World No.7 Ji Hyun Sung of South Korea.