World No 10 Saina Nehwal admitted that she had been outpaced and outclassed by Olympic champion Carolina Marin in their quarter-final match of the 2018 badminton world championships in Nanjing, China, on Friday.
Marin needed only 31 minutes to defeat the Indian 21-6, 21-11 to book a spot in the semi-finals, where she will take on local favourite He Bingjiao.
Right from the first rally, Marin brought forward her top aggressive and physical style of play, and did not give Nehwal even a bit of a breather. The tall Spaniard was imposing on the court and completely dictated the play.
Nehwal, who had defeated former world No 1 Ratchanok Intanon in the third round on Thursday evening, said that she failed to adapt to the change in pace between the Thai’s game and that of the Spaniard.
“I did not know it will be so fast,” Nehwal said, after the match. “Yesterday I was playing with someone who is a stroke player and that match was a bit late in the evening. Within few hours I had to play someone who was so fast. [Marin’s] game was too quick for me to even think what to do next.”
Marin said she was very happy with how she has been playing in the tournament so far. The 25-year-old has not lost a game going into the semi-finals and the most number of points she has conceded in a game in three matches so far is 13.
“I think the best thing I did today was to control myself and execute my strategy against [Nehwal],” Marin told reporters. “I feel I am one of the best players in the world in terms of speed. I could control the game with my strategy.”
Marin could have been up against world No 1 Tai Tzu Ying in the semis but for He Bingjiao’s heroics on Friday. The Chinese world No 7 delighted the home crowd by defeating the title favourite 21-18, 7-21, 21-13 in their quarter-final. Marin expects the match against Bingjiao to be equally tough.
“Everything can happen at the Worlds,” she said. “Today the favourite to win the title lost in the quarter-finals. I am looking forward to the semi-final against He Bingjiao tomorrow. Even if it was against Tai Tzu Ying, I would have looked forward as well. It is going to be really tough but I will do my best to win.”
If Marin can reproduce her form against Nehwal on Saturday against Bingjiao, the Chinese will be up against it.