Indian sensation PV Sindhu advanced to semifinals after defeating Shixian Wang, assuring herself a second consecutive bronze medal at the Badminton World Championships, but ace shuttler Saina Nehwal crashed out in the women's singles quarterfinals at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen on Friday.
Sindhu saw off her challenger from China 19-21, 21-19, 21-15 in an exhilarating performance to become the first Indian to win two medals at the championships.
The 19-year-old Sindhu also won a bronze medal earlier at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. She showed her mental strength, yet again, holding her nerve in the big points to record her fourth win against world no. 2 Wang.
The battle lasted for one hour and 25 minutes, where both the players tried to gather points on opponent's mistake. Sindhu lost the first game, but looked to get back into the match in the second, jumping into a 5-1 lead. But, soon, Wang made her way to a 11-9 lead at the break.
A couple of unforced errors by Wang and few smashes from Sindhu's , saw the game reach 16-16. After the Chinese hit a couple of unforced errors, Sindhu found herself in control in the must-win second game, before eventually prevailing to take the match to the decider.
The final game started with a long rally, before seeing the two players locked at 5-5. Both the players committed many unforced errors but Sindhu hung on to a one-point lead with a smash. Later on, Sindhu targeted Wang's weak backhand to lead 17-15. Then, she took the last four points to seal the victory.
Sindhu, who is seeded 11, will face Carolina Martin of Spain in the semifinals.
Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal, seeded 7, succumbed to world no. 1 Xuerui Li in a quarterfinal battle that lasted just 45 minutes.
Olympic Champion Li saw off Nehwal with a straight game 21-15, 21-15 victory.
The 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, making her comeback after an injury layoff due to which she also opted out of the Glasgow Games, was erratic, which the Chinese took full advantage, taking an 18-11 lead before she sealed the first game.
The second game Saina put up a better fight with the game at 13-13. Saina, though, ran out of energy, and Li earned four consecutive points to take the lead in the game, which she would not relinquish.
Li will now play 16th seed Minatsu Mitani of Japan in the semifinals.
