Marin tames Saina in Malaysia semis

Kuala Lumpur, January 19

India’s campaign in the Malaysia Masters ended after Saina Nehwal went down in straight games 16-21 13-21 to reigning Olympics champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the women’s singles semifinals.

The Indian started on an aggressive note, racing to a 5-2 lead before the world No. 6 Spaniard bounced back, taking six points on the trot to overturn the lead and race to 11-9 at the breather.

Marin continued her dominance despite Saina managing to equal the scores at 14-14 but from there on, the Spanish southpaw went on to pocket seven of the nine points and clinch the game 21-16. Marin continued her aggressive play in the second game, and thanks to Saina’s unforced errors, the Rio gold medallist raced to an 11-6 lead at the halfway mark. After the break, Marin further stretched her lead to 18-11 before sealing the game and the match 21-13 in her favour in 40 minutes.  — IANS

RESULTS 

• Men’s singles: Chen Long bt Viktor Axelsen 21-13 21-18 Son Wan-ho w/o Liew Daren
• Women’s singles: Ratchanok Intanon bt Goh Jin Wei 21-16 21-16; Carolina Marin bt Saina Nehwal 21-16 21-13
• Men’s doubles: Marcus Fernaldi Gideon/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo bt Goh V Shem/Tan Wee Kiong 21-18 24-22; Ong Yew Sin/Teo Ee Yi bt Aaron Chia/Soh Wooi Yik 21-6 18-21 21-19
• Women’s doubles: Greysia Polii/Apriyani Rahayu bt Misaki Matsutomo/Ayaka Takahashi 20-22 21-13 21-19; Yuki Fukushima/Sayaka Hirota bt Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara 21-13 21-14