Malaysia Masters: Saina, Sindhu reach quarter-finals

Malaysia Masters Super 500: Saina Nehwal made light work of a challenge from World No. 9 Se Young An to reach the quarter-finals in Kuala Lumpur.

Ace Indian women shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal sailed into the quarter-finals with convincing victories in the 2nd-round tie but the seasoned Sameer Verma bowed out of Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

World No. 6 Sindhu outclassed Japan’s Aya Ohori 21-10, 21-15 in a match that lasted around 34minutes whereas Nehwal came up with a dominant performance against Young as she clinched the second-round tie 25-23.

It was Sindhu’s ninth successive win over Ohori. Sindhu, who won the World Championships in Basel last year, will take on either world number 1 Chinese Taipei’s Tai Tzu Ying or seventh seed South Korean Sung Ji Hyun in the quarterfinals.

Verma faced a defeat in the second round of the match at the hands of local boy Lee Zii Jia in straight games 21-19, 22-20. Verma had the lead in the first game but lost consecutive points and ultimately lost the match after a tough fight in the second game. The clash lasted for 52 minutes and the defeat ended Verma’s run in the competition.

Saina, who had won the Indonesia Masters last year before going through a rough patch, dispatched South Korea’s An Se Young 25-23 21-12 after a thrilling 39-minute contest to make the last eight.

This is Saina’s first win over the South Korean, who got the better of the Indian in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year.

The two-time Commonwealth Games champion will next take on Olympic champion Carolina Marin.

Earlier on Wednesday, India’s top-ranked women’s singles shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal had made winning starts to the year at Malaysia Masters.

Reigning world champion Sindhu seeded sixth, took just 35 minutes to beat Evgeniya Kosetskaya of Russia 21-15 21-13 in the first round. Nehwal defeated Belgium’s Lianne Tan 21-15, 21-17 under 36 minutes.

Men’s shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth lost their matches to Kento Momota and Chou Tien Chen respectively and as a result, crashed out of the tournament on Wednesday.

Later, HS Prannoy will take on top seed Kento Momota in men’s singles. All other top India shuttlers, including PV Sindhu and Sameer Verma, will also be in action.