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SHAH ALAM (Malaysia): Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal sealed a semifinal spot after a hard-fought victory but compatriot P V Sindhu crumbled under pressure to bow out of the women’s singles competition at the Malaysia Open Super Series Premier tournament on Friday.
World No. 8 Saina dug deep into her vast experience as she recovered from a game deficit to beat Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk 19-21 21-14 21-14 in a 58-minute clash at the quarterfinals stage of the USD 550,000 event. Saina had beaten Porntip seven times in their last eight meetings.
The Olympic bronze medallist Indian will next meet Tai Tzu Ying tomorrow. Saina has a 5-8 record against the Chinese Taipei shuttler, who has beaten the Indian in their last five meetings, including in last month’s All England Championship.
The experience of beating the World No. 4 Ratchanok Intanon at the Korea Open last year, however, did not quite help Sindhu as she suffered her fourth defeat to the Thai girl in five meetings, going down 7-21 8-21 in 29 minutes.(PTI)
