Saina, Srikanth in semifinals

London Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal and male shuttler Kidambi Srikanth reached the semifinals of the $700,000 China Open Super Series Premier but Parupalli Kashyap lost in the quarterfinals at the Haixia Olympic Sport Center here on Friday.

While women’s world number five Saina defeated Chinese Suo Di 21-13, 17-21, 21-5 in 60 minutes, Srikanth stunned Japanese world number 12 Kento Momota 21-17, 23-21 in 45 minutes.

However, Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap failed against Germany’s Marc Zwiebler 21-18, 18-21, 13-21 in an hour and 13 minutes.

In the match between Saina and Suo, the Indian played positively from the start and moved quickly within the court.

Utilising her experience, the 24-year-old earned eight straight points to jump to a 14-9 lead. After which it was a formality for Saina and she won 21-13.

In the second game, Suo managed to pull things back and rattled the Indian.

However, in the third game, a determined Saina conceded just five points before winning the game with a flawless and aggressive display.