25 September,2011 07:02 AM IST | | Vivek Ajinkya
India badminton coach Pullela Gopichand reserved praise for German Juliane Schenck, who stunned fourth seeded Saina Nehwal in the Japan Open semi-finals in Tokyo yesterday.
Saina, who had a 5-2 win record against Schenck till yesterday, was defeated 19-21, 10-21 in just 39 minutes.
"She's (Saina) done well to get to the semi-finals of the Super Series so I won't be too worried. There's no worry as such, there's still time for the Olympics.
"Schenck is a strong player physically and mentally. She's a fighter on court, you don't get easy points against her," said Gopichand, who was in the city yesterday supporting the second India International Sports Summit.
Meanwhile, World champion Lin Dan withdrew with an injured left foot, giving his teammate Chen Long a free ticket to the men's final.
