Indian star shuttler Saina Nehwal entered the semifinals of the Malaysia Open 2016 Friday after getting past Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk at the Malawati Stadium in a thrilling three-setter. After losing the first set 19-21, Saina came from behind to record a 21-14, 21-14 score in the next two sets to register another victory.
The other Indian to watch out for in the competition, PV Sindhu, meanwhile went down after not being able to put up a good fight against former world champion Ratchanok Intanon, also from Thailand. The fourth-seeded Thai took just 29 minutes to crush Sindhu 21-7, 21-8.
Saina, ranked eight in the world, showed all her mettle and almost brought back memories of the fight she showed against Spain's Carolina Marin during the BWF Super Series Finals last year. After a close opening set, Saina showed her experience once again to seal the game at the 58th minute mark.
It was her ninth win in ten meetings over Buranaprasertsuk.
The 26-year-old, who was the World No 1 for some months last year, now takes on Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying in the next round Saturday. Ying is a tough opponent for Saina as the Indian suffered a defeat against the World No 9 in their previous five meetings.
Ratchanok, meanwhile, who completely outclassed Sindhu in their game, will take on Chinese sixth seed Wang Yihan in the semifinals.
