The Indian women's team is set to face Japan in the semifinals of the Uber Cup, after defeating Indonesia in the quarterfinals, at the Siri Fort Sports Complex on Friday.
Star shuttlers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu continued their winning streak, while the doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa outclassed their much higher-ranked opponents to script a 3-0 win over defending champions Indonesia.
Saina defeated Lindaweni Fanetri in straight games, but faced a tough fight in the first when the Indonesian built an eight-point advantage . The Indian captain said Lindaweni played well, but she remained focused to wrap up the tie.
The London Olympics bronze medallist was happy to win the match and said she is improving and regaining her confidence with each victory.
"I can see improvements in my game. Lindaweni is a good player she gave tough fight to every player," Saina said. "She had a lead of 7-8 and it's good that I could keep my focus. I kept on playing long rallies. She was getting tired in second game and I took my opportunity."
"Sometimes you don't start a match very well, today was one such day, but I am happy I could pull off the match from that situation," she said. "I'm getting back my confidence. She is another good player who has got all the shots and hard smashes. She is like Ratchanok but Ratchanok is stronger physically. If I can beat Ratchanok, I can beat others. So I was confident."
"She had a good lead, so I stopped looking at the score. I was hurrying up a lot, so I told myself to first keep on playing," Saina added. "I played more rallies. I played her 2-3 times in Singapore and Indonesia. I was relaxed after I got out of that initial situation."
The 11th-ranked PV Sindhu defeated world number 24 Bellartrix Manuputty in a close encounter. After winning the first game, the Indian became defensive as Manuputty forced the decider. Sindhu managed to clinch the final game after saving two match points.
Indian coach Pullela Gopichand said Sindhu was playing under pressure, which is common in such matches, while her opponent played a very good tactical game.
"If you ask Sindhu to play safe, then she will be very defensive," Gopichand said. "That is the nature of her game. She will have to be aggressive with her height and she will have to keep her streak going."
"After every five to seven strokes, she was getting ones to hit, so she was desperate to finish off the game," he said. "There was pressure on her and her opponent played a very clever game."
Where to Watch Live
The day's play is scheduled for a 12:00 pm IST, 6:30 am GMT start, with live coverage on Star Sports 4 and Sport Sports HD 1 in India. The matches can be watched via live streaming option HERE, and can be live streamed by international viewers HERE .
