Saina makes All-England quarters

Its the one badminton tournament Indians follow with more than a passing interest and a touch of yearning.

Its the one badminton tournament Indians follow with more than a passing interest and a touch of yearning. So Saina Nehwals entry into the quarter-finals in Birmingham her best showing at the event where Prakash Padukone and P Gopichand have been champions holds greater sentimental value than the string of Super Series quarter-finals she made in the last year across the world.

The Hyderabad players assertive 21-11 22-20 win over Korean Seung Hee Bae in the second round on Thursday sets up an interesting weekend ahead,opening up exciting possibilities that can tug Indian interest back to the tournament,currently in its 100th edition.

In the pre-quarters,Nehwal allowed herself to be stretched in the second set where the 26-year-old Korean pursued her doggedly,but couldnt match the Indian world No 7s attacking prowess. Having won the first game of the 42-minute encounter rather comfortably at 21-11 after racing ahead with a nine-point run,Nehwal couldnt shrug off the tailing Korean,ranked 16th,and fought the trenched battle relying on her power.

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There were a few tense moments when the Indian couldnt push forth her 16-13 advantage in the second game and let the Korean wrest the lead at 18-17. However,Nehwals superior,instinctive attacking skills came to the fore soon enough as she closed out the game after muffing one match point for her maiden quarter-final here.

In the quarters,Nehwal will meet Germanys Julianne Schenk,who is the world No 11 and who was responsible for ending Nehwals campaign at the Super Series Masters last year. The clash will offer a small revenge sub-plot within the grander battle at the NIA stadium.

The only other remnants of the Indian challenge Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas stumbled to a quick defeat to Korean Jae Sung Jung and Yong Dae,losing 21-12,21-6 in 20 minutes.