India’s Saina Nehwal progresses to the women’s singles semi-finals of the Orleans Masters 2021 badminton tournament after beating America’s Iris Wang 21-29, 17-21, 21-19 in the quarter-finals on Friday.
In her semis, Saina would probably face either fellow Indian player Ira Sharma or Danish shuttler Line Christophersen.
Into the first game mid-break, Nehwal was quick to initiate and raced the 11-5 lead. Wang, initially a little lost, stepped up her game of the match later on.
The sudden upgrade in her speed took Saina Nehwal off guard as Iris proceeded to take the game to 16-16 and even went on to take the lead for quite a time. The Indian, however, took the hold and scored the final four points to win the first game.
During the second game, the American player tried to take over the lead, but with her experience of years, Nehwal caught up. Iris Wang gave her a tough game and forced it to the third game with 21-17.
The decider witnessed the two go almost toe-to-toe in the early exchanges but with the score of 8-8, Saina got her nose ahead. Despite a steady onslaught from Wang, Saina put on a matured display to see off the game at 21-19.
