Olympics: Saina, Vijender Within Sniffing Distance Of a Medal

London: Saina Nehwal achieved a first by marching into Olympic badminton semifinals, while star boxer Vijender Singh is only a bout away from repeating his medal performance of the Beijing Games following a narrow win in the pre-quarterfinals here Thursday.

The 22-year-old fourth seeded Saina warmed the hearts of her fans with a 21-15, 22-20 win over fifth-seed former World No.1 Dane Tine Baun at the Wembley Arena, before Vijender pipped US rival Terrel Gausha 16-15 in a thrilling bout to enter the quarterfinal of the men's 75 kg boxing category.

He will now fight Uzbek Abbos Atoev for a place in the semifinal. Victory over Atoev will assure Vijender of a medal, as both losing semi finalists are given bronze in the competition.

Leander Paes and Sania Mirza, India's lone remaining hope in tennis, blazed past the formidable Serbian pair of Nenad Zimonjic and Ana Ivanovic, 6-2, 6-4 on the iconic Wimbledon Grass Court for a place in the mixed doubles quarterfinals.