Saina, Sameer look to put behind All England disappointment at Swiss Open
Other Sports | March 11, 2019 14:41 ISTSeeded third, Saina is expected to face second-seeded He Bingjiao of China in the semifinals if the results fall in her favour.
Seeded third, Saina is expected to face second-seeded He Bingjiao of China in the semifinals if the results fall in her favour.
Saina Nehwal went down 15-21 19-21 to Taiwanese Tai Tzu-Ying in the 37-minute quarterfinal clash.
A 2015 finalist, Saina was blown away by world no 19 Line in the opening game but the experienced campaigner kept her cool to take the match to the decider and eventually come up trumps against her Danish rival.
World No.9 Nehwal went past the Scottish shuttler 21-17, 21-18 in the first round of women's singles.
It was Sindhu and Saina's mentor and current chief national coach P Gopichand, who was the last Indian to win the championship back in 2001.
Morten Frost believes that although there won't be any clear favourites but he is read to stick his neck out for the young Japanese woman.
The three-time former champion Saina used her powerful smashes to telling effect, registering a 21-18 21-15 win against Sindhu, a two-time winner, in the summit clash.
In a repeat of last edition's title clash at Nagpur, the two stalwarts will look to outdo each other and write another chapter in their on-field rivalry.
Defending champion Saina hardly broke a sweat to get the better of former India number one Neha Pandit of Mumbai 21-10, 21-10 in a lop-sided quarterfinal contest.
Up against Shruti Mundada in the pre-quarters, Saina had a look at the surface and immediately made it clear that she won't risk playing on it.
Nobody from India has won the All England Championships in the last 18 years.
Sindhu and Saina will undoubtedly be the biggest attraction with some big names as last edition's finalists -- Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy are giving the tournament a miss due to fitness issues.
Gopichand had claimed the All England Championship in 2001, more than two decades after Prakash Padukone became the first Indian to achieve the feat in 1980.
Saina, who had suffered a shin injury late last year, won the Indonesia Masters last Sunday after the withdrawal of Carolina Marin from the summit clash due to a leg injury.
Saina Nehwal was trailing 4-10 in the opening game when Carolina Marin decided to withdraw from the contest.
Saina Nehwal won her first title of the year as Spain's Carolina Marin forfeited the finals after she suffered an injury in the very first set of the match.
Saina Nehwal notched up a come-from-behind 18-21 21-12 21-18 triumph over sixth seed He Bingjiao in the semi-final of the Indonesia Masters.
Saina Nehwal defeated Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-7 21-18 while Kidambi Srikanth lost to Jonatan Christie 18-21 19-21 in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters.
Saina will next face another Indonesian Fitriani Fitriani, against whom she has a 4-0 head-to-head record.
After the engagements of Premier Badminton League (PBL), Sindhu decided to skip last week's Malaysia Masters and she will begin her campaign against former Olympic gold medallist China's Li Xuerui on Wednesday.
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