Sindhu, Saina enter semi-finals of Badminton Nationals

Nagpur: Olympic medallists P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal sailed into the women's singles semi-finals while men's world number two Kidambi Srikanth also notched up a comfortable win in the 82nd Senior National Badminton Championship here. In the women's singles quarter-finals, London Games bronze medallist Saina thrashed Aakarshi Kashyap 21-17 21-10. In another last-eight match, Rio Olympics silver medallist Sindhu proved too good for Shriyanshi Pardeshi, winning her match 21-11 21-17. In the men's singles competition, India's top male shuttler Srikanth had to sweat a little but he emerged victorious in straight games (21-17 23-21) against Shubham Prajapati. The proceedings in the quarter-finals started with the mixed doubles duo of Satwik Sai Raj R and Ashwini Ponnappa taking on Shivam Sharma and Poorvisha S Ram. Satwik and Ponnappa, with their high speed and seamless coordination, managed to bag the first game 21-14 and the second 21-12. Maharashtra Badminton Association president Arun Lakhani said, "The country's top shuttlers certainly proved their mettle today. Over 10,000 spectators, including 5,800 children turned up to watch their heroes live in action  in the course of the day and they didn't disappoint. "The skill on display was mesmerising. Each match was a riveting spectacle. But even as our legends shone, India's up and coming badminton stars made their mark. All in all a great day on which badminton emerged as the biggest winner."