Kuala Lumpur, June 28
PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth notched up straight-game wins to progress to the quarterfinals but it was curtains for Saina Nehwal in the $700,000 Malaysia Open.
Sindhu brushed aside the challenge of Malaysia’s Ying Ying Lee 21-8 21-14 to set up a clash with Carolina Marin. The 22-year-old Indian has a 5-6 head-to-head record against the Spaniard.
In the men’s singles, fourth seed Srikanth saw off Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei 22-20 21-12 in 36 minutes to take his head-to-head count to 3-0. The 25-year-old from Guntur will clash with France’s Brice Leverdez tomorrow. The Indian had beaten the world No. 22 in three games at the All England Championship this year.
Saina slips
Earlier, Saina’s run at the Malaysia Open ended with a straight-game loss to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi. Saina went down 15-21 13-21 to world No. 2 Yamaguchi in 36 minutes. This is Saina’s sixth straight loss to the Japanese in seven meetings. The only time Saina had defeated Yamaguchi was in the 2014 China Open.
Sindhu opened up a 6-4 lead and then reeled off eight straight points to jump to 14-4. In the second game, Sindhu held an 8-7 lead before moving to 13-7. Lee tried to make a comeback but Sindhu comfortably sailed into the quarters. In the men’s singles, Srikanth zoomed to an 11-3 lead but Wang clawed back at 20-20. But Srikanth grabbed two crucial points to pocket the opening game.
In the second game, Srikanth surged to a 10-2 advantage and kept his composure to seal the contest comfortably. Yamaguchi produced a dominating show as she led 9-2 in the first game. Saina fought back to narrow the gap to 10-11 but the Japanese jumped to an 18-11 advantage and secured the opening game. In the second game, Yamaguchi raced to an 8-2 advantage before shutting the door on the Indian. — PTI
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