The 21-year old made a brilliant rally in the first game and then overpowered her opponent in the second. In the first, Saina was staring down the barrel as Shao was just two points away (19-15) from clinching the game. It was here Saina slowed down the pace of the game.
In fact Saina was surprised at the way her opponent raced ahead to 6-1, 14-9 and 19-15. The Taipei girl started on an attacking note playing smashes and drops at will. Saina had been trying to stop her and succeeded in the end by engaging her in long rallies.
She caught her opponent on the back hand and once Shao was not allowed to get winners at will she lost patience and made mistakes. Saina stopped the finalist of the World Championships at 19 and produced six consecutive winners to clinch the first game at 21-19.
Distraught after losing the first game from a winning position, Shao lost her rhythm and surrendered meekly in the second. Saina started with a 3-0 lead and widened the gap to 11-4 by the break. Saina showed her finesse at the net as she secured 10 winners to dominate the opponent. She gave only four points after the break before wrapping up the contest at 21-8.
In the quarters on Friday, the Indian will have a tough outing against two-time All England champion Tine Baun of Denmark.
