Sai loses to Shixian

Sydney, May 29: India’s campaign in the $750,000 Australian Open Superseries ended as World No.1 women’s singles shuttler Sai Nehwal was outplayed 15-21, 13-21 by Chi’s Shixian Wang in the quarter-fils here on Friday.

Defending champion Sai failed to produce her best game at the Sydney Olympic Park and was outplayed in 42 minutes by former world No.1 Shixian, who also equalled her head-to-head record against the 25-year-old Hyderabadi at 6-all.

The first game was a neck-to-neck affair till the five-point mark before Shixian started to show that she is the better shuttler on the day. Shixian’s good show was matched by Sai up to some extent but the chinese was better on the attack and got ahead before the Indian got into groove and equalised at 14-14.

But Shixian’s flawless game not only pressurised Sai but also gave her six straight points that gave her a 21-15 win in the first game. IANS