China Open winner, Saina Nehwal's run in the Hong Kong Super Series tournament came to an abrupt halt, when the World Number 4 lost to Tai Tzu Ying 15-21, 19-21, in Kowloon on Friday.
Saina lost to the World number 9, in just 39 minutes, which is a far cry from her recent glorious win in China.
Saina, who had a 5-2 winning record over Ying, had earlier defeated the latter in the 2013 Swiss Open semi-final.
Despite being outclassed in the first set, Saina roared back in the second and managed to make it 19-19, only for Ying to close out the match, thanks to a clinical display.
Though the loss comes as a setback for Saina, the Indian would look to put it behind as an off day, and continue to focus on her future assignments.
