Saina Nehwal enters Denmark Open semis

Odense: Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal set up a semi-final clash against old nemesis and world number one Yihan Wang of China after easing past local hope Tine Baun in straight games at the Denmark Open badminton tournament here.

Third seed Saina took just 33 minutes to beat fifth seed Baun 21-10, 21-11 to make the last-four stage where she will be up against an opponent who has beaten her in all their six previous encounters.

Saina, playing her first tournament after becoming the first Indian shuttler to fetch an Olympic medal (a bronze) in London, was hardly troubled in the match yesterday. With her trademark smashes and better command over the baseline game, the world number four Indian dictated the proceedings and emerged triumphant.

Third seed Saina took just 33 minutes to beat fifth seed Tine Baun 21-10, 21-11 to make the last-four stage.

This is Saina's fourth straight win over Baun. The two had also come face to face in the London Olympics and the Indian had prevailed in that match. In fact, Baun has not beaten Saina since November 2011's Indonesia Open.

Saina has a tough match coming up against Wang, who is the London Olympics silver-medallist. Incidentally, Wang had beaten Saina in the Olympic semi-finals.

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