<p>India’s ace shuttler Saina Nehwal kept her hopes of winning a maiden All England Badminton Championship alive by powering into the semifinals with a gritty win over Shixian Wang here on Friday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The second seed Saina, whose best performance in the coveted Super Series Premier event is a semifinal appearence in 2010, fought tooth and nail against the sixth-seeded Chinese before securing a 23-21, 19-21, 21-16 victory in 74-minute quarterfinal clash at the National Indoor Arena.<br /><br />This is the fourth time Saina beat Shixian in five career meetings. In the process, Saina also ensured the exit of all Chinese women from singles competition.<br /><br />In the semifinals on Saturday, London Olympics bronze medallist Saina will take on the winner of the match between fourth seed Juliane Schenk and eight seed Ratchanok Intanon.<br />While it was a day to savour for Saina, compatriot Parupalli Kashyap had a forgettable one. The World No 9 Indian was disposed off 16-21, 10-21 by second seed Chen Long of China in the men’s quarterfinal match.<br /><br />Saina, who had beaten Wang in their last three meetings, dictated proceedings from the start.<br /><br />Shixian looked nervous in the beginning but she fought back to not just equalise but also take a crucial 19-16 lead over Saina in the first game. But the Indian showed sheer grit by not just coming back but also saving a gamepoint before winning the game.<br />Saina the lost a hard-fought second game but then found her range again in the third, outplaying Shixian in fine fashion.</p>
<p>India’s ace shuttler Saina Nehwal kept her hopes of winning a maiden All England Badminton Championship alive by powering into the semifinals with a gritty win over Shixian Wang here on Friday.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The second seed Saina, whose best performance in the coveted Super Series Premier event is a semifinal appearence in 2010, fought tooth and nail against the sixth-seeded Chinese before securing a 23-21, 19-21, 21-16 victory in 74-minute quarterfinal clash at the National Indoor Arena.<br /><br />This is the fourth time Saina beat Shixian in five career meetings. In the process, Saina also ensured the exit of all Chinese women from singles competition.<br /><br />In the semifinals on Saturday, London Olympics bronze medallist Saina will take on the winner of the match between fourth seed Juliane Schenk and eight seed Ratchanok Intanon.<br />While it was a day to savour for Saina, compatriot Parupalli Kashyap had a forgettable one. The World No 9 Indian was disposed off 16-21, 10-21 by second seed Chen Long of China in the men’s quarterfinal match.<br /><br />Saina, who had beaten Wang in their last three meetings, dictated proceedings from the start.<br /><br />Shixian looked nervous in the beginning but she fought back to not just equalise but also take a crucial 19-16 lead over Saina in the first game. But the Indian showed sheer grit by not just coming back but also saving a gamepoint before winning the game.<br />Saina the lost a hard-fought second game but then found her range again in the third, outplaying Shixian in fine fashion.</p>