The lone Indian survivor at the most prestigious All England Championship, Saina Nehwal overpowered Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour in straight-games to reach the next round.
The 23-year-old Bangaluru girl managed an easy 21-15 21-6 win over Gilmour in a women’s singles match. This win definitely put some smile on Indian camp as men’s singles players Parupalli Kashyap, Kidambi Srikanth and mixed doubles pair of Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa lost the opening match.
Another promising player Sindhu, world rank 10, who was in her debut match in this tournament was also faced a jerk when Sun Yu of China thrashed her down in another women’s singles match. Sindhu, who held a 2-1 record against Sun before the match, suffered a 16-21 15-21 loss in a 47-minute match at the National Indoor Arena.
The only hope for Indian Badminton fans, Saina was the brightest among all, she sent Gilmour packing in 32 minutes. She will now take on Beiwen Zhang of USA in next round. Saina had beaten Gilmour at the Denmark Open last year as well.
