Anup, Saina fall in quarters

After the high of Anup Sridhar’s second-round win over world No. 2 Peter Gade, Friday turned out to be disappointing for Indian fans.

Both Anup Sridhar and compatriot Saina Nehwal fell in the quarterfinals of the Singapore Open Super Series, although in contrasting fashion.

Saina was within sight of victory over Chinese youngster Wang Lin. Having won the first game, she was 15-all in the second, but Wang took a three-point lead, and even though the Indian drew close at 18-19 and 19-20, the Chinese closed it out at 21-19. Saina failed to mount a challenge in the third game and fell 19-21 21-19 21-14.

Anup Sridhar failed to live up to expectations after his spectacular upset of Peter Gade. Drawn against the tricky Boonsak Ponsana of Thailand, Anup was given no chance from the beginning, as the Thai raced 18-8 ahead and took the game 21-11. The second was easier as he won 21-8; the match was over in 27 minutes.