New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) India’s Saina Nehwal edged past China’s Lu Lan in the semifinals of the Indonesian Open Super Series badminton tournament in Jakarta Saturday to set up a title clash with Lin Wang, also of China.
The World No. 8 Saina, seeded sixth, survived a 39-minute grueling battle to beat seventh-seed Lu 25-23, 21-19.
For Saina, Lu was a tough nut to crack as the Chinese matched her every point and the first game was poised at 13-13 and then 23-23. But the Indian held her nerve and pocketed the last two points to win 25-23.
In the second game, Saina came from 0-5 down to make it 13-all before winning 21-19.
In the other semifinal, third seed Lin found it easy and registered a 21-19, 21-13 win over her compatriot and eight-seed Xingfang Xie.
