Saina Nehwal, B Sai Praneeth move into Thailand Open semifinals
Saina bounced back from a game down against Japan's Haruko Suzuki to book her place in the semifinals
Bangkok: Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal produced a spirited performance as she bounced back from a game down against Japan's Haruko Suzuki to book her place in the semifinals of the Thailand Open here on Friday.
After comfortably winning the first game, the London Olympics bronze medallist went down in the second before rebounding strongly to register a 21-15, 20-22, 21-11 win over her Japanese opponent Suzuki in an exhilarating last-eight contest that lasted one hour and nine minutes.
The second-seed will now lock horns with Thailand's Busanan Ongbumrungpan, the fourth seed, for a place in the summit showdown.
In the men's singles event, third-seed B Sai Praneeth also stormed into the last-four of the tournament after clinching an easy 21-16, 21-17 triumph over Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand in a quarter-final clash that lasted 50 minutes at the Nimibutr Stadium.
In their only meeting before Friday's match, Praneeth had outplayed Wangcharoen 18-21, 21-14, 21-15 at the Indonesian Masters last year.