Saina - The last woman standing at China Open

Indian ace and World no.2 Nehwal edged past Tee Jing Yi of Malaysia in a marathon game, to enter the quarter finals.

The Indian cruised through the first game, as she wrapped it up, 21-10, leaving the Malaysian with no real chance anytime in the game.

The second set looked set to follow the earlier plot until the 11-point interval, when the tide turned in favour of the Malaysian. Yi took five quick points, to take the lead 13-11. Saina had to play catch-up all through the remainder of the set and lost it 21-19.

Yi took control of the third set and led 6-2 and 11-10 at the break. The match seemed poised for a nail-biting finish with the score tied at 17-17. Saina then grabbed three straight points, to create a cushion of 3 match points. Yi could save only two of them, as Saina held her nerves and finished the match 21-19.

The other Indian encounter between World No. 13, P V Sindhu and Wang Shixian from the host nation, was an intriguing and intense battle- both psychological and physical.

The Chinese, led 11-10 in the first game and maintained it till 17-14, but lost her rhythm in the end. Sindhu used this opportunity and took 6 straight points to lead 20-17 with three game points in her hand. She squandered the first, but grabbed the next point and won the opening set 21-18.

The Hyderabad lass seemed to be in complete control of the second set as she led 11-6 at half time. She jumped to a 6 point lead at 13-7, but failed to convert the advantage. Shixian came back with a herculean effort and won eight consecutive points to move into the lead at 15-13. Sindhu managed to catch up with Shixian at 18-18, but lost the game 18-21 in the end to let the match go into a decider.

The third set, early on, was poised on a knife edge, as neither was ready to give up. The score board read 13 apiece, when Shixian got the crucial breakthrough with a couple of points. Sindhu managed to hold on till 15-17, but Shixian won 3 consecutive points to reach the match point with a advantage of 3 points. The Chinese finished the game at 21-16.

Saina Nehwal will face World No. 10 Naozami Okuhara from Japan in her quarter-final encounter, over whom she has a 3-0 head to head record.