Shuttler Saina loses in All England Open quarters

Birmingham: Leading Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out of the All England Open with straight-game loss against Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the quarter-finals here on Friday.

Tai defeated Saina, the finalist here in the last edition, 21-15, 21-16 in 40 minutes at the Barclaycard Arena in a dominating display of badminton. With Saina's loss, India's campaign ended in the tournament.

In the first game, it was a nearly even contest in the beginning with 21-year-old Tai taking an 11-8 lead. But Saina failed to lift her game after the break while Tai kept putting more pressure on the Hyderabadi, holding a 16-10 lead.

The 25-year-old Saina tried to stage a comeback but it was too late as Tai won the opening game 21-15.

The second game saw world No.9 Tai dominating from the start, holding a 10-4 lead. World No.3 Saina did some good work and nearly caught Tai at 10-12 but again the latter surged ahead, building a handsome five-point advantage at 15-10, after which the Indian faltered.