Saina Nehwal recorded a thrilling win over world No. 6 'Lin Zhu' of China to enter the semifinal of the China Masters.
Saina Nehwal defeated the third seed Chinese 21-16 21-23 21-18 to move into the last four of a Super Series event for the second time in three months, the first being the Singapore Open in June. Her outing in Singapore gave her confidence that she can stand her ground against the best.
"A year back I used to get nervous when facing a top player. That's not the case now. I'm confident of beating a top 10 player. I just have to believe in my abilities and give 100 per cent. I just want to win," said Saina Nehwal.
In the Beijing Olympics last month, Saina Nehwal had defeated the then world No. 3 Chen Wang en route to her quarterfinal appearance. And the world No. 12 once again proved it, that she has matured over the last year with more experience under her belt.
She overcame the Chinese on home turf, with local fans cheering for Zhu vociferously. "The stadium was packed to capacity and it was a carnival atmosphere. It was hard to concentrate, but I didn't let it affect my game," Saina said.
Saina's performance also impressed her coach P Gopichand, who rated it as one of the biggest wins of Saina's career. "I would rate this victory highly, because it is difficult to defeat a Chinese on home turf. It is something really special. If she continues to play in the same fashion she can go all the way".
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