Jakarta: Saina Nehwal clinched bronze after losing to reigning World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in the Asian Games 2018 women’s singles badminton semifinal on Monday.
The Indian shuttler went down fighting against her higher-ranked opponent as the match ended 17-21, 14-21 in 36 minutes.
This is the first time that an Indian woman shuttler has claimed a singles medal at the Asian Games and it was also the first singles medals in badminton after the 1982 Asiad when Syed Modi won the bronze.
Saina, who ended a 36-year-old wait for an individual medal, qualified for the semifinals after a 21-18 21-16 win over world number five Ratchanok Intanon in a 42-minute quarterfinal.
