Xtra Time Web Desk: It was a mixed day for Indian shuttlers at the Orleans Masters Badminton on Friday as Saina Nehwal made it to the last four stages while Kidambi Srikanth was knocked out of the quarters. Former World No. 1 Srikanth lost to unseeded Frenchman Toma Junior Popov in 31 minutes. The score read 19-21, 17-21 in favour of Popov.
Saina though made it to semi-finals and will face Denmark’s Line Christophersen on Saturday evening. Nehwal registered a thrilling three-game win over USA’s Iris Wang to advance to the women’s singles semifinals on Friday.
It is the first semifinals in two years for world no. 20 Saina, who is desperate to accumulate ranking points to make it to her four Olympics at the Tokyo Games. She dug deep to script a 21-19, 17-21, 21-19 win over World No 36 Wang. Saina’s last semifinal appearance was in January 2019 in the Indonesia Masters 500 tournament which she had won.
Saina was forced to withdraw from the All England Championships last week due to an injury.
The London Olympic bronze medallist will face Denmark’s Line Christophersen for a place in the finals of the Super 100 event, which is a part of BWF’s revised Olympic qualification events.