Saina goes down fighting in semis

Playing one of the biggest matches of her career her maiden semi-final at the All England Saina Nehwal looked the part for most time....

Playing one of the biggest matches of her career her maiden semi-final at the All England Saina Nehwal looked the part for most time,though her opponent Tine Rasmussen packed all the knock-out punches as the Indian went down 21-19 21-17 at NIA Stadium on Saturday.

Thirty-seven minutes of high-quality,aggressive badminton saw the Indonesian title-winners first Super Series semi-final in the last 12 months showcase her in good light,and promising exciting Birmingham sojourns in coming years. But Saturday belonged to the unseeded Danish woman,more than 10 years Nehwals senior,who will appear in her third straight final in a tournament where the Danes are known to fight extra harder.

Having made history as the first Indian woman to make the All-England last-four,Nehwal wasnt going to melt into a puddle of disappointment or nerves. Sure enough,she led 11-9 at the first change-over of the opening game by attacking Rasmussen and moving with offence clearly on her mind. Staying close enough to the tall Rasmussen in scores,Nehwal found herself at the wrong end of a couple of close calls at the end of the first game that she lost 21-19.

Nehwal,though,soon began to feel the pressure of having fallen back and Rasmussen ensured she gave the young Indian no openings to attack. Rallies high-paced and frenzied were full of tosses and drops,and though Nehwal could restrict the Danes deceptive half-smashes,she failed to pull the action to the net where she could have played differently. From 9-9 in the second game,she started falling back.

Had Saina controlled the net,this couldve been a very close match and its simply hard luck that she couldnt win, said Aparna Popat,herself having been part of the All England action before. But shes made the semi-finals,and its only going to get better now. There are more positives every passing year from her, Popat said.

But this tournament has highlighted Nehwals resolve to break the games of attacking rivals with superior fitness and a well-rounded game,like she did in the quarters against the highly aggressive German Julianne Schenk. Coach P Gopichand said: Shes nearer to the top level now. Getting to the semis is great,and shes in good touch, he said,adding: The win against Zhou Mi (at the Uber Cup qualifiers) was important because she was a player Saina was a little intimidated of. But Saina has showed shes ready to beat the biggest names.

Picking her tournaments carefully has been crucial. We got a good training slot for five weeks and well play only one tournament per month, Gopi said,hinting at a withdrawal from the Swiss Open next week. The big win is not too far away.