Saina eases into quarters

Birmingham, March 5

Third seed Saina Nehwal eased into the women’s singles quarterfinals at the All England Championships with a convincing win over South Korean qualifier Kim Hyo Min here today.

However, top Indian women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa crashed out of the prestigious event after a straight-game defeat against the top-seeded Chinese duo of Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in the second round.

World No. 3 Saina, who breezed past Indonesia’s Bellaetrix Manuputty in the opening round yesterday, beat 48th-ranked Kim 21-15 21-15 in their first ever meeting. Saina next faces her nemesis Wang Yihan, who enjoys a 8-1 head-to-head lead over the Hyderabadi.

Earlier today, Gutta and Ponnappa lost 10-21 13-21 to their formidable Chinese opponents in a 36-minute contest.

HS Prannoy eked out a 16-21 21-8 21-18 win over France’s Brice Leverdez. He faces England’s Rajiv Ouseph in the second round.

There was heartbreak for world No. 5 K Srikanth and Ajay Jayaram as they failed to cross the first hurdle. While fourth seed Srikanth lost to Kento Momota of Japan 18-21 21-12 15-21 in an hour and six minutes, Jayaram too fell by the wayside, losing to China’s Tian Houwei 14-21 21-19 14-21.

P Kashyap had already crashed out in the first round, while men’s doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy registered a stunning win over seventh seeds Chai Biao and Hong Wei of China. — PTI