Orleans Masters 2021 Quarterfinals line-up: Saina Nehwal move into the semi-finals, Srikanth crash out

 

It was a mixed day for the Indian shuttlers as Saina Nehwal moved into the semi-finals of the Super 100 Orleans Masters played at Paris on Friday.

The unseeded pair of Krishna Prasad Garga and Vishnu Vardhan Goud Panjala stunned the Popov brothers in a thrilling three games. It was a closely fought first game initially as the Indian took a decent lead before the Popov brothers made a strong comeback. At the mid-game interval, Garga and Vishnu took an 11-10 lead. After the break, both pairs fought for each point till 17-17 before the Indian took 4 points in succession to win the first game at 21-17.

Popov brothers played aggressive badminton in the second game putting pressure on the Indian winning it easily at 21-10. The third game saw the French pair started aggressively taking a commanding 11-6 lead at the interval. After the break, the game looked out of hand, but the Indians showed resolve to take points in succession to win it 22-20 to move into the semi-finals. They will take on Callum Hemming and Steven Stallwood of England.

The women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy defeated C Birch and L Smith of England in two straight games. It was a dominating performance by the Indians who looked incomplete during the first game-winning it by 21-14. Despite a good fightback by the England pair, the Indian held their nerves to win it 21-18 to move into the semi-finals. They will take on the number 1 seeded pair of Kittiharkul and Prajongai of Thailand.

Dhruv Kapila and Ashwini Ponnappa defeated Max Flynn and Jessica Pugh to move into the semi-finals. It was a dominating performance by the Indian pair taking a commanding 11-3 lead at the interval. After the break, Ponnappa and Kapila won it easily at 21-13. Despite brilliant efforts by England pair, the Indian pair won it by 21-18. They will take on Niclas Nohr and Amalie Magleund of Denmark.

The men’s doubles pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila went down fighting to Callum Hemming and Steven Stallwood in three grueling games. English pair played with aggression making life tough for the Indian pair. At the mid-game interval, Hemming and Stallwood took an 11-8 lead at the interval. After the break, the Indian pair made a strong comeback to level the scores till 19-19. English pair held his nerves to win the first game at 21-19.

The Indian pair came back strongly in the second game to win it easily at 21-18 to force the game into the decider. The third game saw both pairs fighting for each point before the England pair took the lead. After the break, it was an amazing performance by the Indian pair to stage a comeback. Hemming and Stallwood held their nerves to win it 23-21.

Saina Nehwal defeated Iris Wang of America in three grueling games. It was a dominating performance by the Indian who showed great attacking play taking an 11-5 lead at the interval. After the break, Iris made a strong comeback to level scores at 16-16. Nehwal held his nerves to win it by 21-19.

In the second game, both players fought for each point before the American took points in succession to win it by 21-17. It was an amazing decider by both players before Nehwal won it by 21-19 to move into the semi-finals. They will take on Line Christophen who defeated Ira Sharma in two straight games.

The men’s singles challenge ended as Kidambi Srikanth lost to Tomor Junior Popov in two straight games by 19-21, 17-21 to be knocked out in the quarterfinals.

Saina Nehwal move into the semi-finals of the Orleans Masters 2021