Saina sees off Lin challenge,reaches Malaysian Open semis

Star Indian shuttler Sania survived a scare from giant-killer Lin Wang before booking herself a place in the women’s singles semifinals of the Malaysia Open Grand Prix on Friday.

The top seed and world number four dug deep into her resources to edge past the Chinese qualifier 14-21 21-19 21-19 in the intensely fought quarter-final,lasting 57 minutes. Lin had upset Japanese sixth seed Eriko Hirose in her previous outing. “I am happy with the way I played. I could not win the India Open at home and I was disappointed. I am happy with my recovery after that and I hope to go

for the win in the tournament this time,” Saina said after her match. Saina will next take on the winner of the match between third seed Chinese Yanjiao Jiang and seventh seed Korean Ji Hyun Sung.

Saina is the only Indian left in fray in the tournament after all her compatriots crashed out.