Malaysia Open : Saina Enters Semifinal To Clash with

03 April, Kuala Lumpur

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal, who was officially crowned World Number One Friday , has emerged as the lone Indian hope at the Malaysia Super Series premier badminton tournament.

At Kuala Lumpur Friday , she defeated Chinese qualifier Xue Yao in straight games 21-13, 21-9, to reach the quarterfinals of the 500,000 US Dollar event. The Indian will next face another Chinese shuttler, Sun Yu, ranked 15th in the world.

In the Men’s Singles, World no. 4 Kidambi Srikanth lost in the second round against China’s Tian Houwei in straight games, It was also curtains for Parupalli Kashyap and H S Prannoy.

In the women’s doubles, the duo of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa suffered a defeat in the second round against sixth-seeded Indonesian combination.