Error-prone Saina smashed out by Wang Yihan in semis

To be fair to Saina Nehwal, the Indian showed great intent as she opened proceedings of the semifinal clash against her nemesis and World No 1 Wang Yihan of China. But in the course of the encounter, she was out-smashed and at times unable to read her fancied rival’s deceptive strokes, going down 13-21, 13-21 in less than an hour. The fourth-seeded Indian will tomorrow vie for a bronze against the loser of the other semifinal match featuring the Chinese duo of Wang Xin (seeded 2) and Li Xuerui (seeded 3). [caption id=“attachment_403723” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Saina made too may errors today. AP[/caption] Saina, who had never managed to beat the former All England champion in their five previous meetings, was done in by Wang’s clever play and quick movement on Friday. Wang, standing tall at 5'10", used her height to great advantage as she sent down powerful smashes, some even on Saina’s body. The fifth-ranked Indian started the match well, going up 3-2 and it was only at the ninth point of the opening game when Wang edged ahead for the first time at 5-4. Once ahead, the top seed capitalised on the momentum to race ahead 8-4. Despite the crowd strongly rallying behind her, Saina found it hard to close the gap and unfortunately made far too many errors to lose the first game. The Indian came back stronger in the second game and looked the aggressive player the Chinese so fear. In fact, at the changeover Saina led 11-10, but she couldn’t keep up with her opponent for long. Saina kept pace with Wang till 13-15 before the top seed picked up six straight points to close the match in her favour.