Saina Nehwal through to the quarterfinals of All England Badminton Championships

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Star Indian shuttler and World No. 7 Saina Nehwal defeated the World No. 41 American shuttler Beiwen Zhang 24-22, 18-21, 21-19 in a nail-biting encounter which lasted for exactly an hour to reach the quarterfinals of the All England championships.

Saina, who is the the only Indian player left in the tournament, started the match on a positive note as she grabbed five consecutive points when the scores were 8-8, but Zhang was in no mood to throw away the game so easily as she clawed her way back and levelled the scores at 18-18.

Saina, who was a game point down at 21-22, reeled off the next three points in quick succession to wrap up the opening game 24-22.

The 23-year-old Indian shuttler started off well in the second game and was leading 5-2 at one stage but she couldn’t sustain the pressure as the American ace drew parity at 7-7 and then kept on increasing the gap, moving to 16-11.

Saina tried her level best to make a comeback in the game but her efforts were not enough as she lost the second game by the scoreline of 18-21.

The third and final game was also an evenly contested game as both the players were fighting hard for each and every point. Trailing by 7-10 at one stage, Zhang won the next couple of points to shorten the lead against the Olympics bronze medallist.

Saina was just two points away from winning the match before Zhang fought back strongly and clinched three consecutive points from the score of 19-16. But at this stage Saina showed her experience and won the next two points in quick time to draw the curtains on the American shuttler’s challenge.

Saina, who lost in the semifinal of this tournament a year ago, has a tough task in the next round as she will take on the World No. 4 Chinese shuttler Wang Shixian for a place in the semis. Wang thrashed Irish shuttler Chloe Magee 21-15, 21-12 in the second round.

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Edited by Staff Editor