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Korea Open: Saina and Bhat ousted

Source: PTI
January 15, 2009 16:18 IST
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India's Saina Nehwal bowed out of the Yonex Korea Super Series losing to Indonesia's Adrianti Firdasari in the second round, while mixed doubles duo of V Diju and Gwala Gutta upset the top seed to move into the quarter-finals in Seoul on Thursday.

Saina, the fifth seed, went down 21-18, 18-21, 12-21 in a match that lasted 47 minutes.

Saina, who got walkover against Canada's Charmaine Reid in the first round, used her powerful smashes to eke out a win in the first game but thereafter lost her way.

She faltered at the net and her smashes also let her down as she conceded the second game to allow her opponent to draw level. 

In the decider, the top Indian woman shuttler could prove no match as she allowed Adrianti to open up a six-point lead early on which proved to be too difficult to match for Saina. 

There was disappointment in the men's singles with lone Indian survivor Arvind Bhat losing to seventh-seed Przemyslaw Wacha of Poland in the second round. 

Just like Saina, Bhat too went into the lead, winning the first game 21-11. But the Pole then fought back to level terms at 21-14.

The game was equally poised at 11-all before Bhat opened up a five point lead in the decider, but the Indian allowed Wacha to get back on level terms at 19-19 and he ultimately carried on the momentum to win the final game 23-21.

In mixed doubles, Diju and Gutta got rid of Indonesian pair Nova Widianto and Liliyana Natsir 10-21, 21-16, 21-9 and will meet eighth-seed Wijaya Rendra and Meiliana Jauhari of Indonesia in the quarter-finals.

The Indian pair went down meekly in the first game as their opponents raked up 10 consecutive points, thanks to their good coverage at the net and strong smashes. 

But Diju and Gutta came back strongly to claim the second game and gave their opponents no chance in the decider. The Indians played hard and their net coverage and strong smashes left the Indonesians dazed.

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