JAKARTA: Ratchanok Intanon's quest for a second straight tournament win ended on Saturday with her semi-final loss to Saina Nehwal of India at the Indonesia Masters badminton tournament.
The Thai world No.4 went down in straight sets (21-19, 21-19) to her 27-year-old opponent, in a match that lasted 49 minutes. It was Nehwal's ninth win over Ratchanok in 14 head-to-head meetings.
Nehwal, who is ranked 12th in the world, will face the winner of Saturday's later match between top-seeded Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan and eighth-ranked He Bingjiao of China.
Ratchanok, a former world No.1 before injuries set her back, moved up one spot to No.4 in the world rankings this week after her triumph in the Malaysia Masters.
Nehwal, also a former world No.1, had made the semi-final by stunning second seed Pusarla V Sindhu in an all-Indian quarter-final.
