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Rachel and Aira pull off upsets in China Open

KUALA LUMPUR: National No. 2 Rachel Arnold and national No. 3 Aira Azman created upsets today to qualify for the semi-finals of the US$75,000 China Open in Shanghai today.

And at least one Malaysian is guaranteed of a final place.

World No. 30 Rachel created the biggest win of her career by coming back from a set down to stun Egypt's world No. 8 and top seed Rowan Elaraby 9-11, 11-8, 11-9, 11-9 in the quarter-finals at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Centre.

SIxth seed Rachel will face compatriot and eighth seed Aira Azman in the semi-finals.

World No. 36 Aira upset world No. 18 Sana Ibrahim of Egypt by coming back from the brink of defeat to win 2-11, 9-11, 14-12, 11-3, 11-6 in 55 minutes.

The 28-year-old Rachel said: "I went in today with no pressure and I felt like I handled the crucial points really well.

"I have beaten her once before this but I think that was a few years ago and she's definitely a better player now.

"Well, I'm looking forward to the semis. I have a good chance here to get into the final, so I just gonna try and go in again with no pressure and enjoy the game."

Aira said: "To be honest, I was a bit nervous at the start of the match because I think I pressured myself to win the match.

"I took it hard on the first set, starting off a little bit slow and unsteady, nothing was going the way I wanted it to be.

"In the third set, I started to get back my rhythm, I was leading and suddenly lost my focus.

"During the tie break, I told myself that it's fine, just keep fighting for it to push through. It was more of a mental game for me today," said Aira.

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