Parupalli Kashyap, Saina Nehwal enter last eight

Not only did Parupalli Kashyap regain his career-best World No 9 ranking on Thursday, he also justified his rise from the 11th position with a convincing straight games victory to enter the All England quarterfinal for the first time. Kashyap upset seventh seed Kenichi Tago of Japan 21-18 21-12 late on Thursday.

Saina Nehwal, the highest seed in contention for the women’s singles title, also entered the last eight. She brushed aside Indonesia’s Belaetrix Manuputi 21-16 21-11 in the pre-quarters. She was scheduled to face Shixian Wang of China.

The 26-year-old Kashyap told DNA that he had taken time to adjust to the conditions. “I was a little shaky in the first round. I was not getting my rhythm. The shuttles were fast, so I was trying to get adjusted to them. Against Tago, I was more confident with the conditions. My smashes were coming good. I had scored most of my points through smashes. I could control the shuttle better than Tago,” he said.

Kashyap was slated to take on Chinese second seed Chen Long in the quarterfinal.
Meanwhile, Saina has given herself the best chance to win her maiden All England title.
With the exit of China’s World Nos 1 and 2, Li Xuerui and Yihan Wang in the first round, she is now the best seeded player alive in the competition. Should she prevail against Wang, she could run into fourth-seeded German Juliane Schenk in the semifinal.

@GKspts