Saina Nehwal thrashed by Carolina Marin, Satwik Sairaj- Ponnappa eliminated from World Championships
NewDelhi, Aug 03: Saina Nehwal was thrashed by Spaniard Carolina Marin in the quarter-finals of the BWF World Championships 2018 in Nanjing China.
Saina went down in straight games 6-21, 11-21 in just over half an hour to bow out of the tournament at the last eight stage.
Marin asserted her dominance early in the match as she went 11-2 up before the break in the first game. After that it was only a matter of time before a screaming Marin had wrapped up the first game.
The second game was slightly closer after Nehwal took the first point but she trailed the seventh seed 3-7 in the second game. The 28-year-old did cut the deficit to 8-10 but Marin once again stepped up a gear to close out the game 11-21.
The defeat to the Spaniard means Saina’s head-to-head record against Marin is now 5-5.
Satwik Sairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa out
In the mixed doubles the pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa went down to top seeded pairing of Zheng Siwei and Huang Yagiong from China.
In a game that lasted 37 minutes the Chinese pair got the better of Indian pair 17-21, 10-21.
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Rocket from Yemen strikes Tel Aviv, injuring 16, as Palestinians mourn 19 dead in Gaza
Tel Aviv, Dec 21: A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians.
A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 am Saturday, the military said.
The Houthi rebels issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.
The attack comes less than two days after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen's Houthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi attack in which a long-range missile hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.
The Israeli military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won't stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.
The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports “that will lead to the immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The port at Hodeida has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides' attacks risk further escalation in the region and undermine UN mediation efforts.
