As it happened, Orleans Masters 2021, quarter-finals: First semis for Saina Nehwal in two years, Srikanth bows out

9:10 PM IST - Saina, Ashwini-Sikki Reddy highlight India's show

That brings us to the end of the proceedings at the 2021 Orleans Masters here at the Palais des Sports.

It was a mixed day for Indians with Saina Nehwal and the women's doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy making their way into the semi-finals.

While Saina Nehwal, the bronze medallist from London 2012, had to fight hard against Iris Wang of the USA for her win, Ashwini and Sikki Reddy looked at ease in their victory over eh third seeds Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith.

However, the biggest surprise came later in the day when the top seed in the men's singles event and the former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth was shown the door by a spirited show from local hope Toma Popov.

Saturday's matches will begin with Ashwini and Sikki Reddy facing the top seeds Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai of Thailand while Saina Nehwal will take on Line Christophersen.

Join us tomorrow as we bring all the action from the Super 100 event in Orleans. Good night!

9:08 PM IST - Ashwini-Dhruv make semis

The mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Ashwini Ponnappa have entered the semi-finals of the 2021 Orleans Masters.

The Indian duo beat Max Flynn and Jessica Pugh of England 21-13, 21-18 in just under 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, the 21-year-old Ira Sharma's run at the Super 100 event came to an end following a 21-11, 21-8 loss to Line Christophersen of Denmark.

8:27 PM IST - Kidambi Srikanth ousted!

It's by far the biggest upset of the 2021 Orleans Open! Top seed and former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth has been ousted.

Ranked 47th in the world, Frenchman Toma Popov records a commendable 21-19, 21-17 win over the Indian to make his way into Saturday's semi-finals.

While the opening game, Srikanth let the momentum slip and allowed his opponent a way back after his flying start, the second had Popov written all over it as the 22-year-old matched his higher-ranked opponent shot for shot before pressing for the advantage.

Allez, Popov!

Score: Srikanth 19-21, 17-21 Popov

8:18 PM IST - Srikanth keeps the fight alive

The Indian ace has managed to eke out an 11-10 lead at the break in the second game.

But believe there's no doubt that Toma Popova has been the better of the two shuttlers. The Frenchman has carried on from where he left in the opening game and is hungry to bed the match to bed.

Score: Srikanth 19-21, 11-10 Popov

8:06 PM IST - Toma Popov takes the opening game

Where did that come from? He trailed 8-3 at one stage and then 17-13 later, but the Frenchman has managed to stage a quality comeback to take the opening game from his opponent's grasp.

Kidambi Srikanth has only himself to blame for letting this one slip. Meanwhile, the Frenchman is all pumped!

Score: Srikanth 19-21 Popov

7:55 PM IST - Toma Popov with an early lead

The world No. 47 Toma Popov has started this quarters tie on a bright note and enjoys a slender lead at the mid-game interval.

Though he looked a bit hesitant in the opening exchanges, the Frenchman has come good as the game has progressed and looks set to post a stiff challenge to Kidambi Srikanth.

Score: Srikanth 9-11 Popov

7:40 PM IST - Kidambi Srikanth takes court

Up next, it's the former world No. 1 and the top seed in the men's singles segment Kidambi Srikanth.

The Indian is taking on local talent Toma Popov for a place in the semi-finals on Saturday.

This is the second match of the day for the Frenchman with a loss in the men's doubles coming earlier in the day.

6:55 PM IST - Saina Nehwal in semi-finals

It took her an hour, but Indian badminton great Saina Nehwal has made it to her first semi-final in two years on the BWF Tour.

It was a topsy-turvy game, to say the least, with the 31-year-old often caught struggling to keep pace with Iris Wang of the USA.

But Saina Nehwal ensured that she brought her best to the fore when it mattered to register a hard-fought three-game win.

Her last semifinal appearance was at the 2019 Indonesia Masters 500, a competition which she had won.

Score: Saina Nehwal beat Iris Wang 21-19, 17-21, 21-19

6:44 PM IST - Saina Nehwal leads in the decider

The Indian great is in no mood to let go of this match!

Though Saina Nehwal has been slow on the court, she uses her experience to great effect to keep her returns to the deep court that's allowed her enough time to get in a position to return.

Score: Saina Nehwal 21-19, 17-21, 11-8 Iris Wang

6:35 PM IST - Iris Wang takes the second game

We're going the distance!

Saina Nehwal has been a shadow of what she was in the opening game and the American Iris Wang has ensured that she punishes the Indian at every opportunity. 

She has been slow with her movements, the drop shots have struggled to trickle over the net and smashes have barely stayed within the playing region. Saina Nehwal will need to do much better if she needs to get out of this with a win. 

Score: Saina Nehwal 21-19, 17-21 Iris Wang

6:22 PM IST - A close affair between Saina Nehwal and Iris Wang

The second game is much closer than the opening one. Not so much for the quality of badminton with both the shuttlers struggling to keep the shuttle in play. 

If Iris Wang can keep her returns close to the net, drawing Saina Nehwal to the net with some well-placed drop shots, the American stands a chance to push the match into a decider. 

Score: Saina Nehwal 21-19, 9-11 Iris Wang

6:12 PPM IST - Saina Nehwal draws first blood

Just under 20 minutes is what Saina Nehwal takes to wrap up the opening game in this quarter-finals tie at the Orleans Open. But it wasn't before Iris Wang put up a fine show to test the Indian.

Saina Nehwal led from the front, not allowing her opponent to settle into any rhythm. But as the game progressed the American got into her groove and forced the Indian into committing a number of rudimentary errors.

But Saina Nehwal managed to hold on to her game to see herself through.

Score: Saina Nehwal 21-19 Iris Wang

6:00 PM IST - Saina Nehwal with a dominating start

The Indian legend has come out in top gear in their quarters tie and has a comfortable 11-5 lead at the mid-game interval.

Saina Nehwal has barely put a foot wrong, making her opponent work hard throughout the early exchanges. Iris Wang will need something special to get out of this unscathed.

Score: Saina Nehwal 11-5 Iris Wang

5:41 PM IST - End of the road for MR Arjun, Dhruv Kapila

The Indian duo of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila is out of the Orleans Masters following their quarter-final loss at the Palais des Sports.

The experienced pair lost to England's Callum Hemming and Steven Stallwood 21-19, 18-21, 23-21.

Up next, it's the bronze medalist from the 2012 London Olympics, Saina Nehwal, who's looking for her first semi-final appearance on the BWF tour in a while.

The Indian ace takes on Iris Wang of the USA.

5:30 PM IST - Ashwini Ponnappa, N Sikki Reddy in last-four

The Indian pair has entered the semi-finals of the Orleans Masters.

The match was a difficult one to call and it stayed true to the expectations with both the pairs bringing their 'A' game to the fore in this quarter-finals tie.

However, it was the Indian duo that proved its mettle in deciding moments to register a fine win over England's Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith.

Score: Ashwini Ponnappa/ N Sikki Reddy beat Chloe Birch/ Lauren Smith 21-14, 21-18

5:19 PM IST - Birch-Smith have their noses ahead

It's another close one, the second game here!

The English pair have come out with purpose and stuck to their gameplan to enjoy a slender 11-9 lead at the mid-game interval.

Though the Indians kept their returns flat, forcing Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith to go for the lifts, the Englishwomen were prepared for the returns and built their points the back of some wonderful rallies that saw both the pairs give everything on the court.

Score: Ashwini/ Sikki 21-14, 9-11 Birch/ Smith

5:06 PM IST - Ashwini-Sikki with an early advantage

The Indian duo has dominated the match and deservedly enjoy a 1-0 lead over the third seeds Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith.

While Ashwini Ponnappa has stayed true to her game, N Sikki Reddy too joined the party with some cheeky interception that caught the English pair off guard in the opening game.

Score: Ashwini/ Sikki 21-14 Birch/ Smith

4:59 PM IST - Ashwini-Sikki in a close battle

The women's doubles match between India's Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy, and the three-seed English pair of Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith is off a fine start. 

Both the pair have come out all guns blazing and have not held back in making their intentions clear in these opening exchanges.

While Ashwini has used her brute force from the backcourt, Lauren Smith has been smart with her shot selection, often stretching the Indian pair. 

Score: Ashwini/ Sikki 11-8 Birch/ Smith

4:44 PM IST - Nervy win for Krishna Prasad/ Vishnu Vardhan

What a start for India!

The men's doubles pair of G Krishna Prasad and GP Vishnu Vardhan enter the semi-finals of the Orleans Masters following a three-game win over the local pair of Christo Popov and Toma Popov.

Though the Indians started brightly to take the opening game 21-17, the Popov brothers were the best in the second as they took the game 21-10.

The Frenchmen continued their form in the decider and even managed three game points, but the Indian shuttlers trusted their game to eke out a fine win in what was a nerve-racking tie.

Score: G Krishna Prasad/ GP Vishnu Vardhan beat Christo Popov/ Toma Popov 21-17, 10-21, 22-20

3:15 PM IST - Ashwini Ponnappa-Sikki Reddy start favourites

The first match of the day will see a young Indian pair of G Krishna Prasad and GP Vishnu Vardhan take on the Popov brothers from France — Christo and Toma.

But it's the second tie on the TV court that's sure to have the Indian badminton fans glued to their screens.

Up against Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith of England, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy will be expected to at their best if they are to stand a chance against the world No. 14 pair.

The English women have shown fine form this year so far with quarter-final appearances at the All England Open and the Yonex Thailand Open. As for the Indian pair, their only last-eight show of the year came at the All England Open last week.

3:00 PM IST - Saina Nehwal, Srikanth bank on fine form

Welcome to the quarter-finals action at the 2021 Orleans Masters. The BWF Super 100 event is all set to enter its business end with shuttlers eyeing a place in the last-four today. 

The French tourney has been a fruitful one for Indians with leading badminton players Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth enjoying a fine run at the BWF Super 100 event so far.

Though Saina Nehwal, a bronze medallist from the 2012 London Olympics, was made to dig deep for her quarters win on Thursday, the Indian ace has largely looked in good touch during her time on the badminton court. 

She will be up against Iris Wang of the USA today.

Meanwhile, the top seed in the men’s singles, Kidambi Srikanth has had no such trouble and will be hoping for another satisfying outing when he lines up against the world No. 47 and the local hope, Toma Popov.

Also, keep an eye out on the women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy, who face the All England Open quarter-finalists Chloe Birch and Lauren Smith of England.

Stayed tuned for all the latest from the 2021 Orleans Masters, here!