Lower-ranked Eriko Hirose of Japan shocks World No 5 Saina 21-11, 22-20 in quarter-final
Lower-ranked Eriko Hirose of Japan shocks World No 5 Saina 21-11, 22-20 in quarter-final |
| India's Saina Nehwal returns to Japan's Eriko Hirose during their singles quarter-final of the All England Open Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on Saturday. PIC/AFP |
India's Saina Nehwal suffered a shock defeat against lower-ranked Japanese Eriko Hirose 11-21, 20-22 and bowed out of the All England Badminton Championships here on Saturday.
With Saina's fall at the National Indoor Arena, the Indian challenge ended in the prestigious event. The World No 5 shuttler had defeated Hirose, ranked 17th, in the Indonesian Super Series semi-final last June but the Japanese was unstoppable here and she raced to a comfortable 15-5 lead in the first game. The second game saw neck-and-neck fight between the two but Hirose won the crucial points to seal a place in the semi-finals.
Saina reached the semi-finals last year and was expected to make it to the finals this time after the withdrawal of World No 2 Yihan Wang, who was in the same half of the draw.
