Defending champion P V Sindhu and fellow-Indian H S Prannoy marched into the semi-finals of the women's and men's singles respectively at the US $120,000 Macau Open Grand Prix Gold on Friday.

World No. 11 Sindhu went through some anxious moments before beating fifth seed Han Li of China 21-17, 19-21, 21-16 in a little over an hour, at the Tap Seac Multisport Pavilion.

The second seeded Indian will take on Busanan Ongbumrungpan of Thailand on Saturday.

Men's third seed Prannoy got the better of Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro 21-19, 21-17 in 41 minutes.

He will play Wong Wing Ki Vincent of Hong Kong for a place in the final.

Earlier, Sindhu opened up a 5-1 lead early on and even though Li narrowed the gap to 6-5 she stayed ahead to take the game easily.

In the second game, Sindhu again surged ahead and led 11-6, but Han caught up with a five-point burst.

The Indian reeled off four points on the trot but the Chinese kept breathing down her neck, drawing abreast at 17-17 and taking the game.

The Chinese carried the momentum into the decider and led 6-3, but Sindhu wriggled her way out of trouble and raced to 14-8 before clinching the issue at 21-16 after scoring four straight points.

Image: PV Sindhu