World Badminton Championships: Saina Nehwal loses in semis, settles for bronze

Saina Nehwal settled for a bronze medal as her impressive run at the World Badminton Championships came to an end after a heart-breaking loss against Rio Olympics bronze medallist Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the women’s singles semi-finals.

After battling for an hour and 14 minutes, it was the World No. 12 Japanese who managed to eke out a come-from-behind 12-21, 21-17, 21-10 win over the Indian to become the first shuttler from her country to reach the finals of World Championship.

“It was disappointing to have lost the match despite being a game up. But overall I am happy that I made it to the semis after recently coming out of an injury. I gave it my best and I am pleased with that,” Saina said after the match.

“She (Okuhara) started winning long rallies after the first game and that was the main reason for her to make a comeback into the match,” she added.

Okuhara, on the other hand, said she was happy to have beaten a “great opponent”.

“When I was struggling today I thought back to the last match against Marin and that got me playing much better. I do not want to stop at the final, I want to win gold,” said the Japanese.