Asiad 2018: Saina loses semi-final, settles for bronze

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal had to settle for a bronze medal after losing her women's singles semi-final to world No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan at the 2018 Asian Games here on Monday.

The 28-year-old Indian went down 17-21, 14-21 in a hard-fought contest.

Saina's bronze marked India's first individual badminton medal at the Asian Games in 36 years.

In the opening game, Saina fell 0-3 behind but fought back to level the score at 10-10. Tai then produced five consecutive points to move 15-10 ahead.

Saina responded strongly once again, narrowing the gap to 15-16. However, the Taiwanese shuttler held her nerve and closed out the 19-minute game 21-17.

Tai began the second game with another quick 4-1 lead. Saina's unforced errors allowed her opponent to extend the advantage to 6-2.

The Indian battled back to make it 6-6 and went into the interval just one point behind at 10-11. Saina remained in contention until Tai moved ahead 15-14 before taking control of the closing stages to win the game 21-14 and seal her place in the final.