Saina,Chetan book semis spot

Saina Nehwal has not had to battle it our for so long on the court before emerging a winner in recent times....

Saina Nehwal has not had to battle it our for so long on the court before emerging a winner in recent times. On Friday,the world No eight and top seed here had to rally for 54 minutes before downing fifth seed Fransiska Ratnasari of Indonesia 11-21 21-4 21-19 in her quarterfinal match of the Syed Modi International Grand Prix tournament being held at the UP Badminton Academy.

In contrast,mens top seed Chetan Anand wrapped up things in less than half an hour to book his semi-final spot,defeating compatriot and sixth seed Anup Sridhar 21-18 21-10. Saina will next be up against sixth seed Jeanine Cicognini of Switzerland while Chetan will play promising youngster RMV Gurusaidutt on Saturday.

The latter stole the limelight from his more illustrious competitors when he upset third seed Andre Kurniawan Tejdono of Indonesia 21-18 21-16 in the quarterfinals to storm into the last four in style. The Indian eight seed was composure personified as he played to his strength and never allowed his higher-ranked opponent to take control.

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Another major upset was in the womens doubles event,where the unseeded pair of Nadya Melati and Devi Tika Permatasari of Indonesia quelled the challenge of top seeds Aparna Balan and Shruti Kurien 21-15 8-21 21-12. However,Aparna managed to continue in the race for a title with a 21-14,15-21 21-15 win over Parajakta Sawant and Pranav Chopra partnering Arun Vishnu in the mixed doubles.

Meanwhile,former world champion Taufiq Hidayat of Indonesia will play an exhibition match at 5 pm on Saturday.