Saina Nehwal Faces Chinese Wall Li Xuerui in Malaysia Open Semis

Saina Nehwal will face two of her stiffest rivals in the business end of the Malaysia Open Super series badminton championships. The world No. 1 Indian has run into top seed and Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the semifinals after a hard-fought 21-17, 18-21, 21-17 win against unseeded Sun Yu in a quarterfinal match in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

If Saina manages to get the better of Xuerui, she could face an All England final rematch with Spain's Carolina Marin. World champion Carolina is also in semis in the second half of the draw. Seeded sixth in the Malaysia Open, Carolina will face second seed Wang Shixian, who ended the giant-killing streak of unseeded Japanese Nozomi in three well-contested games. (Saina Must Win All England, World Championship, says Vimal)

Carolina has been in smooth form after losing early in the Indian Open last week. She saw off Hong Kong qualifier Cheung Ngan Yi 21-12, 21-9. She has not played a third game in the tournament so far. But beating Shixian will be a tough job.

Just like Saina, Xuerui was stretched in her quarterfinal match against fifth seed and former world champion Wang Yihan. After losing the first game, Xuerui beat Yihan 14-21, 21-15, 21-12. Saina versus Xuerui will be a mouth-watering clash. The Chinese players still remain the dominant force in world badminton.