Defending champion Saina Nehwal will face PV Sindhu in the women’s singles final at the Yonex-Sunrise 83rd Senior National Badminton Championships on Saturday.
In the first semifinal, Assam’s badminton prodigy Ashmita Chaliha put up a spirited show before going down to Olympic medallist PV Sindhu. Chaliha went down fighting 21-10, 22-20 in the first semifinal of the event.
After losing the first game, Ashmita tried to make a comeback with a determined show in front of the home crowd. At one point, she was leading 17-13 but powerhouse Sindhu kept her cool and clinched the match finally.
In the second semifinal, defending champion Saina Nehwal defeated Vaishnavi Bhale 21-15, 21-14 to reach the final.
Earlier, in the quarterfinals defending champion Saina hardly broke a sweat to get the better of former India No. 1 Neha Pandit of Mumbai 21-10, 21-10 in a lop-sided quarterfinal contest.