New Delhi: Saina Nehwal was stunned by Germany's Juliane Schenk in the women's singles semi-finals as India's campaign came to an end in the Japan Open Super Series badminton tournament in Tokyo on Saturday.
Fourth seeded Saina lost 19-21, 10-21 to her eighth-seeded rival in a contest lasting 39 minutes.
In the closely-fought first game, Saina and Schenk went neck and neck all through but at 19-19, the German nosed ahead to go one up on her more fancied Indian rival.
The opener was contested hard, but the second game turned out to be a one-sided affair after Schenk broke free from 10-10.
The German outwitted Saina with her superior net play, fetching seven net winners against the Indian's one to complete a rather facile win.
This was the eighth career face off between the two and despite the loss, Saina leads the overall record 5-3.
In fact, world number five Saina has lost to eighth-ranked Schenk for the first time in more than two years.
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