SAINA NEHWAL MARCHES TO SEMIS AFTER BEATING WANG

PARIS: Ace India shuttler Saina Nehwal on Friday progressed to the semi-finals of the ongoing Orleans Masters after defeating USA’s Iris Wang in the quarter-final clash.

Nehwal registered a hard-fought win over Wang 21-19, 17-21, 21-19 in a one-hour long encounter. Wang put up a great fight against Olympic bronze medalist shuttler but she could not get the better of Nehwal.

Nehwal started on a high note as she outclassed the American in the first game. Wang came back strong in the second game and claimed the game by 21-17.

The match went into the third game where Nehwal held her nerve to advance to the last four of the competition.

In another women’s singles quarter-final, Indian shuttler Ira Sharma faced a humiliating defeat against Denmark’s Line Christophersen. Danish shuttler defeated Ira in straight games 21-11, 21-8 in just 23 minutes.

Earlier in the day, the women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy advanced to the semi-finals.

Ponnappa and Reddy outclassed England’s pair of Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith 21-14, 21-18 in the quarter-finals clash that lasted for 41 minutes.

Indian men’s doubles pair of Krishna Prashad Garaga and Vishnu Vardhan Goud Panjala stormed into the semi-finals after defeating the local pair of Christo Popov and Toma Junior Popov in a three-game intense clash.

The Indian duo came out triumphant despite the French pair staging a comeback in the second game. They won the match by 21-17, 10-21, 22-20 in an encounter that was completed in one hour and three minutes.