Saina Nehwal crashes out of Japan Open after loss to Carolina Marin

Saina Nehwal and Carolina Marin are yet to win a major this year. Both have tried to make successful comeback but haven’t been able to put in satisfactory results. Marin was ousted by Nozomi Okuhara in the World Championships in the quarters. The Japanese the beat Nehwal in the semi-final despite having of 1-6 head-to-head record against the Indian. It was a battle between equals trying to rise back to the top. But on Thursday, only one could win and as it turned out at the end of a 43-minute match, it was Rio Olympic champion Marin. The Spaniard dominated the match throughout and despite a few sparks of brilliance by Nehwal, she won 21-16 21-13. The story wasn’t like this when the match began as Saina was off to good start. In fact, she led 11-9 in the first game.  She extended it to 14-11 but the momentum swung in Marin’s favour. She gave no chance to Nehwal and wrapped up the game 21-16. The Spaniard stepped up in the second game took the initial lead. At no point in the second game did Marin let Nehwal make a comeback. She took the lead and converted the crucial points with ease. The Indian committed unforced errors which resulted in more problems for her. In an earlier match, PV Sindhu lost to world champion Nozomi Okuhara 21-18 21-8 to crash out of the Japan Open.