Dictating the points

Nehwal rushed to an eight-point lead and eased to the first set 21-10. And she was determined not to deter from her game-plan despite the Malaysian’s comeback 21-17 second game. The teenager was back to dictating the points in the decider as she kept Wong at an arm’s length, smashing every time she sensed her rival was drawing close, as eight of her first 11 points came with the smash.

For someone who sneaked into this prestigious tournament at the very last moment, an appearance in the last-four will only highlight her newly acquired top-10 status. Playing her semi-final within 14 hours of that smash-spree group ties though, Saturday will be another challenge against an even more accomplished power-player. Nehwal beat Wang at the Olympics, but lost to her in Hong Kong recently.