India’s Saina Nehwal earned a fine come-from-behind win over Porntip Buranaprasetsuk of Thailand in the quarterfinal of the Malaysia Super Series Premier, beating her opponent 19-21 21-14 21-14 on Friday.
The opening game saw the Thai take an early upper hand, as she took a 6-3 lead before extending it to 11-6 at the interval mark. The Indian, however, clawed her way back into the game, winning 8 out of the next 11 points to level the score at 14-14. However, it was Porntip, who was the first to break the deadlock and she carried that momentum forward, winning 7 out of the next 12 points to win the game 21-19.
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The second game began on a more even note with both players winning 5 of their opening 10 points, but it was Saina’s turn this time to take the lead and she clinched 3 points straight to go 8-5 up and then stretched that advantage to 11-6 at the interval.
It proved to be one-way traffic after the break as well, especially from the 13-12 mark, as the Indian won 8 out of the next 10 points to win the game 21-14 and take the match into a decider.
The 2015 World Championships silver medalist then carried the momentum she gained from the second game into the deciding third game, taking a 5-1 opening game lead and then built that advantage to first lead 11-6 at the interval before winning 10 out of the next 18 points to close the game 21-14 and move into the semis.
She will now face Tzu Ying Tai in the semis on Saturday.
Sindhu suffers a thumping loss
Meanwhile, PV Sindhu suffered a thumping loss at the hands of Ratchanak Intanon, who defeated the 10th ranked Indian 21-7 21-8 to move into the semis.
