All England badminton: Proud I played well despite being in very bad shape, says Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal losing streak against Tai Tzu Ying continued as she suffered yet another defeat against the world No 1
in the quarter-final of the All England Championship in Birmingham on Friday but the Indian star said she was proud of the way she played.

A former finalist herself, Nehwal once again couldn’t find answers to the deceptive strokeplay of Chinese Taipei star, going down 15-21, 19-21 in the 37-minutes for her 13th consecutive loss against her nemesis.

Speaking about the match, the world No 9 from India said, “I was quite good today, I had my chances in the second set but I just tied up in the last two points. My coach was saying ‘make it slower’, but when you are on the edge of winning a match or a game you tend to get a little more hurried up and I made that mistake again and I think it cost me the second set.

“In these conditions I’m happy it was close and I’m happy that I’m getting closer to the top players,” she added.

Nehwal, who is now 5-15 in head-to-head career record with Tzu Ying, chose to look at the positive side as she has reportedly been suffering from diarrhea since reaching Birmingham.

“I’ve been in very bad shape the last few days, I’ve not been sleeping because of the pain I’ve been having in my stomach, but still I could manage to play so well so I’m very proud of myself. I’m really positive and happy that I could play two matches here,” Nehwal said.

This was the ninth time that Nehwal has reached the last eight at the prestigious All England, and it was another proof of her remarkable consistency.

“I will just try to maintain the kind of fitness I have right now and keep on improving, keep on having the positive attitude and let’s see what happens next,” she said, regarding her immediate plans.

For her part the World No 1 said she focussed on winning the match as quickly as possible. “We know each other quite well and we are quite familiar with each other’s games as well. I just tried really hard to beat her and it was a very difficult game,” Tzu Ying said. “[Saina] had already pushed me so hard so I was determined to get through it as quickly as possible.”

For Nehwal, it is not a problem to play the world No 1 so often as long as she can learn to beat her once.

“I think it’s ok, you have to beat the best to be the best. It’s good that I’m playing her again and again. I have to learn how to beat her and then things will become easier,” Nehwal said.