Saina Nehwal knocked out in quarter-finals of 2015 Badminton Asia Championships

Saina Nehwal didn't capitalise on her early lead

India’s campaign at the Badminton Asia Championship suffered a massive dent as World No.1 Saina Nehwal was knocked out in the quarter-finals by 5th seed Tzu Ying Tai in three games- 21-16 13-21 18-21.

The 25-year-old Hyderabadi began the match on a bright note, winning 5 points on the trot as compared to Tzu’s 4 and won the game 21-16 to take the early lead. However, that advantage was short-lived as the Taiwanese made a defiant comeback in the second game. She went onto win five consecutive points and took the game 13-21 to bring the match back on even terms.

In the third and deciding game, Saina, once again was slow to start off the blocks, trailing her opponent 4-9 at one point but made a resurging comeback to make it 17-18. That comeback though didn't prove to be enough as Tzu eventually won the game and the match to progress through to the semi-finals of the tournament.