Kuala Lumpur: Saina Nehwal's superb run at the Malaysian Open Super Series badminton came to an end as she went down fighting in the quarterfinals against fourth seed PI Hongyan of France on Friday.
The fifth seeded Sania saved four match points but eventually went down 17-21, 26-24, 16-21 against the World number seven Hongyan.
Hongyan went up 4-0 in the first game before Saina levelled at 4-4. However, Hongyan increased the tempo to claim the opening game.
After losing the first game, Saina staged a strong fightback in the second, with a flurry of smashes and deft net-play. She saved three match points to take the match to the decider.
The World number 10 Saina levelled the game at 5-5 as both players engaged themselves in a neck to neck battle. They were locked 16-16 before Hongyan took three points in a row. But Saina levelled at 19-19 but Hongyan forced the crucial match point.
Saina thwarted her opponent and went on to save two more match points until she got one at 25-24, which she squandered. The 18-year-old Saina though converted the second match point to stay alive.
The third game was also a see-saw affair. Saina was down 5-9 but came back to take the lead at 10-9. However, Hongyan thwarted Saina's efforts to force another match point at 16-20.
Saina failed to come up with one last effort as Hongyan claimed her spot in the semifinal.
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