Paris:
Indian challenge ended in the World Badminton Championship with ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju crashing out of the high-profile tournament after losing their respective matches here on Friday.
Second seed Saina failed to produce a fight against sixth seed Shixian Wang as the better-prepared Chinese thrashed the Indian 21-8 21-14 in a 34-minute battle to reach the semifinals of the women's singles.
In the mixed doubles event, Jwala and Diju fell prey to 12th seeds Sung Hyun Ko and Jung Eun of South Korean 16-21, 19-21 in a 31-minute battle after the Kerala shuttler developed a sore back midway through the match.
In a day of upsets, world number one Le Chong Wei of Malaysia was outclassed by fifth seed Indonesian Taufik Hidayat 15-21 21-11 12-21, while three-time world champion Lin Dan of China was thrashed by Korean number 13 seed Sung Hwan Park 13-21 13-21 in the men's singles.
However, for India it was Saina's defeat which was the most heartbreaking because it put an end to a dream that had endured over three tournaments -- Indian Open, Singapore Super Series and Indonesia Super Series -- which Saina clinched to climb to a world number two, raising hopes that she had the capability to clinch the World title here.
Both Shixian and Saina had never played each other but it was the Chinese seeded six who was off the blocks like a seasoned sprinter.
In the first game, Wang was leading 5-1 and it was quite clear that Saina was struggling with her movements. She did fight back to level the scores at 6-6. But Saina couldn't sustain it and let Wang surge ahead to lead 16-8, before closing it with a scream at 21-8.
"I knew I was struggling with my movements," said Nehwal.
"I did try and rotate the shots but nothing was working."
The second game was no better at least in the start. Saina still looked sluggish and wasn't even playing her drop shots, her main weapon. Even when she did, Shixian was there at the net to pick it up.
Suddenly the lead looked insurmountable. Shixian led 15-9, mainly off Saina's errors. What was surprising was that Saina didn't prolong the rallies to ensure she played herself into the match.
Her first drop shot winner came at 9-14 in the second game and her first smash winner at 12-16, again in the second game evidence that she was nowhere near her current form.
At 12-16, it did seem that she might claw back but Shixian wasn't letting any thing past her. At 14-20, Shixian played a rally and then took the match as Saina faltered.
"She was better then me today and read me well," said Saina. "I don't think I have played this badly in a long time."
"It's very disappointing and it will take some time to come out of this defeat. I had high hopes of going further in the tournament."
"Of course, I can't let the defeat dwell. That's not the way I am. I will get past the disappointment and start preparing yet again," Saina added.
Earlier, V Diju's back problem resurfaced to restrict the movement of the Indian shuttler in the crucial quarterfinal encounter, which they eventually lost in straight-game.
It was apparent mid-way through the first game when Diju clutched his lower back that movement at the back court was getting painful for him.
Still he managed to earn points but the errors piled on. Jwala Gutta did her bit at the net and once in a while played back court but couldn't stem the aggression of the South Korean pair who used the smash and mid court placements to telling effect.
"It was a struggle," said Jwala.
"We knew we were in a strong position having beaten the same team before but with Diju struggling it was difficult to maintain a set momentum," he said.
The Koreans managed to lead in the first game by at least two points and then capitalising on the errors by the Indians closed out the game 21-16 to lead the match 1-0.
The Indians did come back strongly in the second game. Leading 2-0 initially, they moved to 5-4 before Diju's sore back restricted him from leaping and smashing even when there were openings.
He started using the drop shot from the back court. The Koreans sensing that he was unable to move used the high toss to rattle off a few crucial points and take the lead 6-5.
But Gutta and Diju fought back to seize the initiative and led 11-10 at the second game break. Korea, however, equalised at 12-12 and then led 15-12 with a series of powerful smashes.
With some deft placements at the net, Jwala earned crucial points to draw parity at 16-16. But the back court was a problem with India as Diju was finding it difficult to bend and pick up the baseline corner smashes.
India still managed to make a fight of it and equalised at 19-19 as the crowd started supporting India. But two errors at the net and a shot across the sideline ended India's hopes of a semi-final at the World Championships.
"We knew we were the better team and it is very difficult to come to terms with this loss," said Jwala.
"Right after the match, Diju had to be rushed to the massage centre and I hope his back gets okay fast." Speaking on the team's future plans, Jwala said, "Our aim is to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics and to do well there. We were very sure of a semi-final here but that's the way sport is."