India’s sole survivor in the the Indonesia Open Super Series, Saina Nehwal couldn’t get past the top seeded Carolina Marin in the quarters. Saina lost the game in straight sets of 22-24 and 21-11.
Saina had qualified for the quarterfinals after beating the Indonesian fan favorite Fitriani Fitriani on Thursday.
Saina defeated Fitriani in a match lasting 32 minutes in straight sets 21-11, 21-10. Thursday’s pre-quarters also saw the tournament ending for the men’s doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy and the women’s pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa.
Seeded 8th in the tournament, Saina meanwhile had her sights set on winning the prestigious Indonesian Open for 4th time. But she faced the mammoth task of beating World No. 1 Carolina Marin in the quarters. Heading into this game Saina had a 4-2 head to head record in her favor against Marin.
Saina gave Marin a tough fight in a nail biting first set which ended 24-22 in the favor of the Spaniard. The second set turned into a rather one sided one with Saina losing 21-11 and making the end of the road for India in the tournament.