Last year's bronze medallist PV Sindhu is set to play the semifinal round of the World Badminton Championship on Saturday at the Ballerup Super Arena in Copenhagen.
Being the only hope for India to clinch gold after the shocking straight-game exit of ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal, Sindhu will face Carolina Marin of Spain in the quest to reach the finals.
The 19-year-old Sindhu has already guaranteed bronze after defeating Chinese World No. 2 Shixian Wang 19-21, 21-19, 21-15 in the quarterfinals, which lasted an hour and 25 minutes.
The Hyderabadi became the first Indian to win two medals having won the bronze last year at Guangzhou in China.
"I didn't feel tired after yesterday," Sindhu said. "My coach [Pulella Gopichand] was calling 'one by one' and I always felt it was possible to win again.
"Now I just want to do better than last year. I don't want bronze again."
She will now have to face the challenge of world no.10 Marin, with whom she has a 1-1 head-to-head record. Sindhu first defeated Marin 21-7, 15-21, 21-13 in the third round of the Maldives International Badminton Challenge in 2011.
However, Marin squared her head-to-head record against the teenager by beating Sindhu 21-17, 21-17 in their last encounter at the Australian Badminton Open 2014.
Meanwhile, second seed Chen Long will face Tommy Sugiarto of Indonesia in the semifinal of the men's singles.
Long defeated Son Wan Ho 21-18, 12-21, 21-17 in just 86 minutes in the quarterfinal match.
Long has a 6-1 head-to-head record against Sugiarto. In their most recent encounter, the world no. 5 defeated Long 21-11, 21-18 in the first round at Djarum Indonesia Open 2013.
Where to Watch Live
The semifinals will be shown live on Star Sports 4 in India. The matches can be watched via live streaming option HERE or stream the action online HERE. The live match updates are available HERE.
