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QINGDAO: India's world number four Saina Nehwal warned China that its days of supreme domination were over after she defeated the highly rated Wang Xin in her own backyard.
Nehwal boosted her reputation as the major threat to China's women shuttlers as she enjoyed a comprehensive 21-15, 21-11 victory over world number three Wang in the Chinese city of Qingdao on Thursday.
It was only the second match China have lost at the Sudirman Cup, the first coming when Germany's Juliane Schenk shocked the top-ranked Wang Shixian on Sunday.
“It's good that nowadays a lot of players are coming in to beat the Chinese – not only me, but I also think Juliane Schenk and Tine (Baun, of Denmark). The Thai players and Japanese are also doing very well,” said Nehwal.
“We are all training very hard and I think now everyone is believing they can beat the Chinese, so I think the road is quite open now.
“The Chinese players are getting a little tense that a lot of players are doing very well and they (the Chinese) should be a little careful. The competition is opening up and it's very tough now.”
Li Yongbo, China's head coach, admitted the demoralising defeats of the two Wangs had given his players plenty to think about.
“I agree that in the women's singles more foreign players are doing better than before,” he said.
“But this is not a bad thing, it's good to promote badminton in the world and we don't expect China to win all the matches.
“We all hope that badminton can develop in a more even way.”
Li was fulsome in his praise of the 21-year-old Nehwal, who is the only non-Chinese player in the women's top five.
“Nehwal posed a big challenge to Wang Xin and she is a strong player,” he said. “She did a very good job.”
