Saina fumbles, Diju-Jwala also bite dust

Indian campaign in the World Super Series Masters Final got off to a disappointing start with ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju biting dust in their first outing in Malaysia.

Indian campaign in the World Super Series Masters Final got off to a disappointing start with ace shuttler Saina Nehwal and the mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju biting dust in their first outing in Malaysia.

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The world number eight Saina could not do justice to her reputation and went down 13-21 21-13 14-21 to Malaysian Wong Mew Choo in a hard-fought 50-minute Group A match of the women's singles event.

Saina will now have to win her next two matches against Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand and Canadian Charmaine Reid to keep her semifinal hopes alive.

Jwala and Diju also failed to bring smile to the Indian camp as the duo lost 15-21 16-21 to the English pair of Anthony Clark and Donna Kellogg in just 28 minutes.

They now face a similar situation of winning the next two matches to stay afloat.