Saina - The last woman standing at China Open
Defending champion Saina Nehwal reached the quarter-finals, while P V Sindhu failed to make the cut at the China Open Superseries Premier at the Thaihot China Open in Fuzhou on Thursday. Saina Nehwal represents the last Indian hope at the event after the rest of the Indian contingent crashed out early on, including the men's defending champion Kidambi Srikanth.
Indian ace and World no.2 Nehwal edged past Tee Jing Yi of Malaysia in a marathon game, to enter the quarter finals.
The Indian cruised through the first game, as she wrapped it up, 21-10, leaving the Malaysian with no real chance anytime in the game.
The second set looked set to follow the earlier plot until the 11-point interval, when the tide turned in favour of the Malaysian. Yi took five quick points, to take the lead 13-11. Saina had to play catch-up all through the remainder of the set and lost it 21-19.
Yi took control of the third set and led 6-2 and 11-10 at the break. The match seemed poised for a nail-biting finish with the score tied at 17-17. Saina then grabbed three straight points, to create a cushion of 3 match points. Yi could save only two of them, as Saina held her nerves and finished the match 21-19.
The other Indian encounter between World No. 13, P V Sindhu and Wang Shixian from the host nation, was an intriguing and intense battle- both psychological and physical.
The Chinese, led 11-10 in the first game and maintained it till 17-14, but lost her rhythm in the end. Sindhu used this opportunity and took 6 straight points to lead 20-17 with three game points in her hand. She squandered the first, but grabbed the next point and won the opening set 21-18.
The Hyderabad lass seemed to be in complete control of the second set as she led 11-6 at half time. She jumped to a 6 point lead at 13-7, but failed to convert the advantage. Shixian came back with a herculean effort and won eight consecutive points to move into the lead at 15-13. Sindhu managed to catch up with Shixian at 18-18, but lost the game 18-21 in the end to let the match go into a decider.
The third set, early on, was poised on a knife edge, as neither was ready to give up. The score board read 13 apiece, when Shixian got the crucial breakthrough with a couple of points. Sindhu managed to hold on till 15-17, but Shixian won 3 consecutive points to reach the match point with a advantage of 3 points. The Chinese finished the game at 21-16.
Saina Nehwal will face World No. 10 Naozami Okuhara from Japan in her quarter-final encounter, over whom she has a 3-0 head to head record.