Syed Modi International 2018: Saina, Sameer enter semi-finals; Satwik-Ashwini on fire

Former World no. 1 Saina Nehwal marched into the semi-finals of the ongoing Syed Modi International Badminton Championship 2018 in Lucknow. No. 3 seed Sameer Verma also progressed with a hard-fought victory over a Chinese player. Satwiksairaj and Ashwini Ponnappa delighted as well as they reached the semi-finals in mixed doubles together as well as in the men's and women's doubles events with their respective partners.

As expected, Saina Nehwal secured a spot in the semi-finals of women's singles after an easy victory over no. 8 seed and fellow compatriot Rituparna Das. She won by 21-19, 21-14 in 36 minutes and will now face Ruselli Hartawan of Indonesia.

In the other semi-finals, Han Yue will face the 2012 London Olympic champion Li Xuerui in an all-Chinese match. Fans are eagerly waiting to see the final between Saina Nehwal and Li Xuerui in which Li leads the head-to-head record 12-2.

Sameer Verma

No. 3 Seed Sameer Verma also progressed into the semi-finals after beating Zhou Zeqi of China in three games. He beat the Chinese youngster by 21-18, 16-21, 21-11 in an hour and 13-minute marathon match. He will now face Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo of Indonesia.

But It was a mixed day for India as their two star shuttlers B. Sai Praneeth and Parupalli Kashyap lost their matches at the quarter-final stage. Sai Praneeth lost to Lu Guangzu of China by 21-10, 19-21, 21-14 in a 58 minute-long match while former champion Parupalli Kashyap lost to Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand by 21-16, 21-19.

Ashwini Ponnappa (left) and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa reached the mixed doubles semi-finals after victory over Ronald Ronald and Annisa Saufika of Indonesia by 20-22, 21-17, 21-11. They will now be up against the young Chinese pair Ou Xuanyi and Feng Xueying.

In men's doubles, Satwik and Chirag Shetty beat Ou Xuanyi and Ren Xiangyu in three tough games. They won by 15-21, 21-19, 21-17 in exactly an hour-long match. They will now be up against Olympic silver medallists Mathias Boe and Carsten Mogensen of Denmark. Ashwini and N. Sikki Reddy also progressed safely to the semi-finals and they will now play a pair from Russia on Saturday.

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