Saina, who was looking good at the start of the season, was diagnosed with acute gastroenteritis with mild pancreatitis which affected her performance at the All England Championship.
Saina squandered a game advantage to lose 21-16, 11-21, 14-21 against Takahashi
Up against Shruti Mundada in the pre-quarters, Saina had a look at the surface and immediately made it clear that she won't risk playing on it given that the All England Championships are around the corner.
Former World No 1 Saina Nehwal stayed on course for the women's singles title at the season-opening Malaysia Masters after she advanced to the semi-finals of the $US 120,000 Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament in Sarawak, Malaysia.
Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal on Sunday headed for a gold medal showdown at the 18th Asian Games after their quarter-final victories ensured India's first ever women's singles medals at the continental event.
Two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina Nehwal continued her impressive run, progressing into the women's singles semi-finals with a straight-game win over unseeded Korean Lee Jang Mi at the Asia Badminton Championship in Wuhan, on Friday.
Saina Nehwal went down fighting against former world champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the quarter-finals to draw curtains on India's campaign at the Korea Open World Tour Super 500 tournament, on Seoul, on Friday.
Saina Nehwal dug deep for a fighting win over Thai rival Ratchanok Intanon while Kidambi Srikanth too continued his good run to make the semifinals of the $ 750,000 Australian Super Series Badminton tournament.
India's leading shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the second round of the French Open with straight-game wins, but it was curtains for Sameer Verma at the US $750,000 BWF event, in Paris, on Wednesday.
Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out of the Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold Badminton tournament in Basel.
Saina will next face either Thailand's fourth seed Ratchanok Intanon or Korea's Sung Ji Hyun, while Sindhu will take on the winner of the match between Sri Lanka's Kavidi Sirimannage and Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol.
The first Indian woman to clinch a silver medal at the World Championship in the 2015 edition at Jakarta, Saina has been struggling ever since, limping out of the Olympics last year with a knee injury.
Three-time champion Saina Nehwal staved off a challenge from a lower-ranked Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei to make a positive start to her women's singles campaign at the $900,000 Indonesia Super Series Premier badminton tournament in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth's wretched run continued as he went down 6-21, 17-21 to fellow-Indian Ajay Jayaram, diminishing his hopes of qualifying for the Tokyo Games.
Ajay Jayaram kept India's flag flying by entering the men's singles quarterfinals.
On a recovery path after her recent knee surgery, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal visited the Film Nagar Temple in Hyderabad. Saina is out of action following her surgery in Mumbai which was conducted few days after her second round exit from Rio Olympics. The Hyderabad-based shuttler bowed out to 61st ranked Maria Ulitina of Ukraine in Rio.
Saina Nehwal has claimed that her father Harvir's name has been removed from the Indian team official's list for the Commonwealth Games, leaving her frustrated just before the start of the mega event.
India's badminton ace Saina Nehwal tied the knot with fellow badminton player and long time partner Parupalli Kashyap in Hyderabad on Friday.
Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu remained in the hunt for a historic Asian Games gold medal after a tense win but Saina Nehwal settled for a bronze following her 10th straight defeat against World No. 1 Tai Tzu Ying.
Ace Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal on Thursday stormed into the quarter-finals of the All England Open Badminton Championships after their straight-game victories over their respective opponents in the women's singles event in Birmingham.
In a shock for Indian fans, star shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap fell by the wayside after losing their respective singles matches at the 17th Asian Games on Friday.
The Indian challenge at the Australian Open Super Series badminton ended as Saina Nehwal was sent packing by China's Shixian Wang in the women's singles quarter-finals, in Sydney, on Friday. The world No 1 was beaten by the two-time All England champion and fifth seed 15-21, 13-21 in 41 minutes.
It is Sindhu's second semifinal of the season, following a last-four finish at the India Open last month.
Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal notched up her first title after a career-threatening injury by claiming the Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold with a hard-fought victory in the summit clash in Sarawak, Malaysia, on Sunday.
Saina Nehwal continued her irresistible form to claim her third straight title in as many weeks. The Indian ace won the Indonesia Open badminton Super Series in Jakarta on Sunday, beating Japan's Sayaka Sato 21-19, 13-21, 21-11 in the final. Join us in congratulating the rising star of Indian sport.
Congratulate Saina Nehwal on her success at Singapore.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
'Saina and Sindhu are top contenders, but they will have to beat players who are playing solid badminton at this juncture.'
In a rare honour for an Indian sportsperson, Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has been appointed a member of the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Athletes' Commission.
Saina Nehwal was the lone Indian left in the Australian Open Super Series badminton tournament after a hard-fought victory over China's Sun Yu in Sydney on Thursday. The world No 1 overcame a stiff challenge from Yu, ranked No 9, winning 21-19, 19-21, 21-14 in 78 minutes.
Lakshya Sen, who won both his matches to play his part in the silver medal-winning effort in men's team event, too dropped one spot to world number 15. Kidambi Srikanth gained a spot to 20th.
London Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal scripted history by reaching the finals of the prestigious All England Badminton Championship with a straight-game victory over Sun Yu of China in the women's singles competition in Birmingham.
World No. 1 Saina Nehwal survived a scare before prevailing over Thailand's Busanan Ongbumrungphan in the opening round of the Denmark Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament on Wednesday.
India's ace shullter Saina Nehwal put up a strong fight but went down 13-21, 21-13, 6-21 to World No 1 Tai Tzu Ying in Denmark Open final on Sunday.
London Olympics bronze medallist Saina Nehwal wants to qualify for the Dubai World Superseries Finals after resuming her partnership with long-time mentor and chief coach Pullela Gopichand.
Two-time Olympic medallist Sushil Kumar said he welcomed the Sports Ministry's decision to recommend Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal's name for the Padma Bhushan.
Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal set up a semifinal clash against old nemesis and World No. 1 Yihan Wang of China after easing past local hope Tine Baun in straight games at the Denmark Open badminton tournament in Odense, Denmark.
'I didn't know I had a major injury. The belief of my parents and coach helped me get back'
The London Olympics bronze medallist will next play seventh seed Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, who knocked out two-time defending champion Spain's Carolina Marin 21-18, 14-21, 21-15 in the other quarter-final.
But Saina, who had lost in the quarter-finals last year, is set to gain 3600 points having made it to the World Championships final this year. Saina will therefore, now have 82, 792 points to her tally, giving her the World No 1 title again.
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