Nehwal,Prannoy race into semifinals of Swiss Open

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal has romped into the semi-final of the USD 120,000 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament after thrashing seventh-seed Sayaka Sato of Japan in the women's singles event here.

The Olympic bronze medallist outplayed her Japanese opponent 21-15, 21-14 in a contest that lasted for 52 minutes last night.

Nehwal, who had bagged the Swiss Open title in 2011 and 2012, will next face third-seed and her fierce rival Wang Yihan for the final-berth.

Earlier on Thursday, Saina dropped three places to sixth in the latest BWF world rankings following a quarter-final loss at the All England Championship.

She battled through injuries last year and had to miss out on a few tournaments this season, including the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold and South Asian Games.

Meanwhile, compatriot P.V Sindhu knocked out of the tournament after going down 13-21, 15-21 at the hands of HE Bingjiao of China in their quarter-final clash.

In the men's singles event, 13th seed H.S Prannoy also produced an imperious form to advance to the next round of the tournament after trouncing Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-18, 22-24, 21-9 in a one-hour contest.