After showing a great tenacity and a determined fight back to progress to the semifinals of the Australian Open 2016 badminton series, Saina Nehwal will have to count on her best efforts once again to get past Wang Yihan of China on Saturday. Yihan, 28, has turned out to be one of Saina's greatest nemesis in recent times.
Catch the report of the match HERE.
In a total of 15 meetings, the Chinese, ranked #2 by the Badminton World Federation (BWF), has a total of 11 wins against the Indian shuttler. The stat says it all.
Saina's previous win over Yihan came way back in 2012 at the Denmark Open; Yihan had retired from the match midway owing to an injury. In their next six meetings after that encounter, Saina, currently ranked #8 by the BWF, could never really overcome the Chinese shuttler.
If the Indian manages to showcase the same mettle she displayed against Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon in the 28-26, 21-16 win in the quarterfinals of the event on Friday, she can even come close to putting up a great fight against Yihan and possibly even win the battle.
Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth, the other Indian in the event, will be taking on Denmark's Hans-Kristian Vittinghus in the Australian Open 2016 semifinals on Saturday. The 23-year-old shuttler won in straight sets against Korea's Kwang Hee Heo; the scoreline reading 21-18, 21-17 at the end of the match.
Where to watch live
Kidambi Srikanth will be in action from 1 p.m. local time (8:30 a.m. IST) on June 11. Saina Nehwal's match is the fourth match in the order of the day, so expect a 10:30 a.m. IST start.
Star Sports 4/HD 4 remain the broadcast destinations of the event in India. Live streaming option is also available on starsports.com.
Live score from the match can also be found HERE.
