Semifinal is our target at World Championship, says Gopichand

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Guangzhou (China): India's chief coach Pullela Gopichand today commended the stunning performances of his wards, including P V Sindhu and Parupalli Kashyap, but asked them to step up the gas and reach the semifinals of the ongoing World Badminton Championships.India's rising shuttler Sindhu today registered a stunning 21-18 23-21 victory over defending champion Yihan Wang of China to join Saina Nehwal in the women's singles quarterfinals here.In the men's singles, Kashyap also recorded an upset victory over world number six Yun Hu of Hong Kong 21-13 21-16 as first time India will have three representatives in the last eight stage of the prestigious event."It is a good achievement for India. First time we have three players in the quarterfinals and I am really happy. But now we need to focus more and try to take the game to the next level and reach the semis," Gopichand said."Semifinals was our target and we need to at least reach there tomorrow," he said."It is going to be a big day tomorrow and I hope the players can get their perspective right and do well at the big match," he added.Asked about Sindhu's stunning performance, Gopichand said: "Sindhu was very good today. She fought till the end and didn't allow the advantage slip away. The way she fought towards the end in the second game when Yihan saved three match points, was fantastic. She handled the pressure well and held her nerves."