New Delhi, May 10 (PTI) India's Ankita Raina quelled a strong challenge from lower-ranked Eudice Wong Chong to make it to the singles semifinals of the USD 60,000 ITF women's event here Friday.

The second seeded Indian, ranked 175, came back from a one-set deficit to beat her Hong Kong rival 2-6 6-4 7-5 in a nearly two-hour long quarterfinal.

It turned out to be a very close game, with Ankita winning 88 points, just two more than Eudice, ranked 497.

They broke each other seven times in the match.

"It was a tough match, happy that I pulled off this one. In first set she started well and was not missing much. When I moved her around, I started coming back, so I persisted with the strategy," Ankita said from Luan.

"She played really well. I enjoyed the match and was in control in second and third sets," the 26-year-old added.

Ankita now has a chance to make her third final of the season as she faces seventh seed Chinese Shuyue Ma.

The gritty Indian had won a USD 25k event in Singapore and ended runner-up at a USD 60k tournament in Istanbul.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)