SECOND SEED SAINA NEHWAL booked a place into the women's singles semifinals after a hard fought win over sixth seed Wang Yihan of China in the World Badminton Championship in Jakarta on Friday.
With this win, Saina entered the semifinals of the competition for the first time in six attempts and is now assured of a medal. Saina beat Wang 21-15, 19-21, 21-19. The Indian shuttler will now face unseeded Indonesian Lindaweni Fanetri in the semis on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, PV Sindhu failed to complete a hat-trick of medals at the World Badminton Championships after she lost a gruelling quarterfinal women's singles match against Sung Ji Hyun of South Korea,
Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also lost to the Japanese duo of Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao 23-25, 14-21 in the women's doubles quarterfinals. The top-ranked Indian pair failed to convert the chances in the first game before running out of steam to lose in straight games.