Orleans Masters Badminton: Saina Nehwal out after losing to Kristoffersen in semi-finals

Ace India’s shuttler Saina Nehwal bowed out of the ongoing Orleans Masters after losing in the semi-final against Denmark’s Rekha Kristoffersen on Saturday. It took the Danish player only 28 minutes to defeat the high-ranked Indian shuttler. Christophersen defeated Saina in two straight games 21-17, 21-17 to advance to the finals. The 21-year-old had complete control of the match from the start and did not give Saina any chance to return to the semi-finals. Earlier in the day, the Indian men’s doubles pair of Krishna Prasad Garga and Vishnu Vardhan Gaur Panjla made it to the finals with a win over England’s Callum Hemming and Steve Stallwood.

In the semi-final clash, Krishna and Vishnu displayed an attacking mindset and dominated both games as they beat the English pair 21–17, 21–17 in 35 minutes. Krishna and Vishnu will now play the summit on Sunday.

In another clash, the Indian women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy were eliminated from the competition after losing in the semi-finals against Thailand’s Jongkolfan Kitatharkul and Ravinda Prafullji.

The Indian pair lost 21–18, 21–8 to Jongkolfan and Ravinda in straight games in a 37-minute encounter.

Promoted

Earlier on Friday, Saina defeated America’s Iris Wang in the quarter-finals. He had a tough win over Wang (21–19, 17–21, 21–19) in an hour-long encounter.

Wang fought a big fight against Olympic bronze medalist Shutler, but could not do better than Saina. The Indian started high, beating the American in the first game. Wang made a strong comeback in the second game and claimed the game 21–17. The match went to the third game, where Saina held her nerve to advance to the final four of the competition.