BWF World Championships: Saina Nehwal goes down fighting to Nozomi Okuhara in semis, secures bronze for India

Japan's Nozomi Okuhara ended London Olympics bronze medallist Sania Nehwal's dream run at the World Championships by beating the Indian in the semis on Saturday.Okuhara beat Saina 12-21,21-17, 21-10 to seal a spot in the title clash.

Okuhara shall now await the winner of the second semifinal between PV Sindhu and Chen Yufei. Okuhara had beaten defending champion Carolina Marin in the quarterfinals to book a place in the last four.

Saina outclassed her Japanese opponent in the first set but Okuhara staged a solid comeback to level the match in the second set. Okuhara dominated the third game and left no chance for the Indian to stage a comeback.Saina who had made to a record seven straight quarterfinals at the World Championships aimed to make it to her second final at the premier event.

Nehwal had lost the finals to Spain's Carolina Marin in the 2015 edition of the Championships at Jakarta. Nehwal shall now await the winner of the other semifinal between PV Sindhu and Chen Yufei. If Sindhu manages to win against her Chinese opponent, it will be an all Indian affair in the title clash of the women's singles on Sunday. Saina had knocked out second seed like Sung JH in the third round before overcoming a hard fought three game battle against home favourite Kirsty Gilmour in the quarterfinals.