Saina Nehwal advanced to the semifinals of the $120,000 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here on Friday beating eighth-seeded Indonesian Fitriani Fitriani 21-15, 21-14.
The top-seeded Indian will face Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin in the semifinals. In men’s singles, World No. 19 Ajay Jayaram lost 21-13, 21-8 to Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting. This was Jayaram’s third defeat to the Indonesian, having lost at Hyderabad Asia Team Championship and the French Open as well.
Saina took her own time to get her bearing against Fitriani, who quickly opened up a 4-0 lead and consolidated her position to reach 11-6 lead at the interval.
However, the Indian soon started gathering points after the break and caught up with Fitriani at 12-12. Saina soon jumped to a 16-14 lead and then reeled off five straight points to pocket the opening game.
In the second game, Saina continued with her dominating show as she opened a 4-2 lead and then jumped to a 9-5 advantage before entering the breather at 11-6. Yin gave a fightback after the interval and narrowed down the gap to 12-13 before Saina took control and sealed the match. — PTI
