Tripping to shuttlers ranked in the tricky 20s, where players can be at their hungriest to prove a point, was always going to be a possibility when Saina Nehwal moved into the top-10 bunch.

The match against Japanese Eriko Hirose, currently in the fringe 40s owing to injury, but formerly in the top-20, turned out to be deja vu for the Indian world No 9, as she lost for the second time to the same lower-ranked opponent in 18 months. Playing the quarters of the Danish Open Super Series at Odense, Nehwal lost 21-11 21-13 in 30 minutes, beaten by the sleight of the Japanese girl’s wrist all over again.

Repeat show

Having lost to her 24-year-old opponent, who had foxed and wrong-footed her then, in Hyderabad at the Indian Open in April 2008, Nehwal never really got going here either, losing eight straight points at the beginning of the match. Losing points in a massive clutch, as she went on to do through the match, meant even Nehwal’s most reliable power game could not help her wriggle out of the web of unforced errors and wide pushes.

The Japanese kept up her tricks in the second game too, and was helped to a quick win with the cushion of a nine-point lead, which the Indian 19-year-old could never threaten. Hirose scored double the points that Nehwal had — 30 to the Indian’s 15.

Chetan goes out

India’s men’s top hope Chetan Anand also went down, to Indonesian Sony Dwi Kuncoro 21-17 21-14. Again, it was the early lead conceded by the Indian that proved to be his undoing, even though the two were almost evenly matched in their smash attacks and at the net. Anand’s only chance to close down the gap came at 15-14 in the second game, but after getting through that, the Indonesian wrapped up the match in a hurry, picking 6 points in a row.