It was bitter sweet for India in the women’s singles with unseeded Saina Nehwal reaching the semi-finals in style while compatriot P.V. Sindhu was blown away in the Wuhan Automobile Badminton Asia Championships quarter-finals in Wuhan on Friday.
Saina, the newly crowned Commonwealth Games oozed confidence in her 21-15, 21-13 win 43 minutes over unseeded Korea opponent Lee Jang-mi to earn a crack at world number No 1 and defending champion Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei in Saturday’s semi-finals.
Tzu Ying, the top seeded, outclassed China’s He Bingjiao (No 3 seed) 21-14, 21-9 in only 31 minutes and is the player to beat as she showed once again why she is the favourite.
Sindhu, in coach Vijaydeep Singh’s own words, was “dull in her game” and “completely out of the picture” from the start.
The No 3 seed, who won the silver in Commonwealth Games, was so devastated by her performance that she was not in the mood to speak of her defeat.
Saina, described her present fitness as the key to her performance but expects the toughest hurdle yet when she plays Tzu Ying for a place in Sunday’s performance.
The 28-year-old Saina, faced some tough moments in the first game against Jang-mi but once she found her rhythm it was her game all the way after winning 21-15 although the Korean was dictating play.
In the second game it was Saina in cruise mode and led 8-0 before Jang-mi got her first point and took the break at 11-2. A couple of unforced errors from Saina were not enough the Korean.
“A huge lead in badminton is never a guarantee that you will have it easy. You just have to let go with the hope of getting points. Right now my confidence is at a high and I hope to go beyond the semis,” added Saina who has not beaten Tzu Ying in the last couple of matches.
SELECTED RESULTS (QUARTER-FINALS)
Women’s singles
Saina Nehwal (Ind) beat Lee Jang-mi (Kor) 21-15, 21-13
Sung Ji-hyun (Kor) beat P.V. Sindhu (Ind) 21-19, 21-10
Chen Yufei (Chn) beat Cheung Ngan Yi (Hkg) 21-9, 21-18
