China’s World No.3 Wang Yihan is deceptive on court because of her crafty wrists. In eight of the previous nine matches between Wang and Sania Nehwal, the former prevailed because she hoodwinked the India No.1 by playing late and changing the direction of her strokes at the very last second. On most of those occasions, Saina was left guessing because of the unpredictable nature of her opponent’s shot-making.

So the Indian’s plan before her Asian Games quarterfinal against Wang was to play the waiting game by committing late to strokes. Till the first game, the strategy seemed to be working well. Saina watched Wang closely but moved swiftly to produce sharp, uncomfortable returns. It was an intriguing tactical duel that lasted 25 minutes. Saina would retrieve from every impossible angle Wang would find. Saina wrapped up the game 21-18.

After the rousing start by the Indian, came the tame surrender. The intensity of the first game had taken its toll on both players. One of the perils of playing long rallies on slow courts, like the one at the Gyeyang Stadium here, is that it can be extremely energy-sapping.

Wang, sensing an opportunity, dug deep into her energy reserves and started doing what she does best — outwitting an opponent with skillful racquet guile. Wang’s sharp half-smashes troubled Saina, who could not muster any resistance. She lost the next game 9-21 and the decider 7-21. It was her second consecutive quarterfinal exit from the Asian Games.

Despite Saina’s inferior head-to-head record against this particular Chinese opponent, what restricted her progress on Friday was poor movement on court. She later said that improving her agility was on top of the agenda when she decided to move to Bangalore — from Hyderabad — and train under Vimal Kumar ahead of the Asian Games. At the World Championships last month, Saina realised her movements, front and back as well as lateral, were getting stiff. She couldn’t move at all, as a result of which she could not retrieve quite a few shots.

The two weeks she spent at Prakash Padukone’s academy in Bangalore, before leaving for Incheon, were dedicated to rectifying this aspect of her game. “Vimal sir made me do that (on-court movement) again and again. And he made me do it fast. It will take time to improve my endurance. Usually it takes around four weeks to do that. But I am trying,” she said.

She will most likely be heading to Bangalore again instead of Hyderabad. The work on her movements is only half done. “I’m happy that I am improving so I would like to spend some more time (with Vimal). We have to discuss again and it is not an easy decision,” she said.

Saina’s defeat ended India’s hopes of winning another medal here. Earlier, in the men’s singles match, World No.1 Lee Chong Wei dispatched Commonwealth Games gold medallist P Kashyap 21-12, 21-11 in the pre-quarterfinals. K Srikanth put up a brave fight against home favourite Wanho Son but lost 21-19, 11-21, 18-21.