Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu continued their impressive show in the India Open in Delhi, booking their respective quarterfinals berths, Thursday. Saina defeated Nitchaon Jindapol with the score reading 21-19, 21-14, while Sindhu emerged triumphant against Thailand's Busanan Ongbumrungphan 17-21, 21-19, 21-16 in a tight encounter.
Saina is one of the favourites to win the Superseries title, but her performance has not been top-class so far. However, she has looked good enough to come out on top in both her first two matches.
The second seed will face a much tougher opponent in the form of Sung Ji Hyun, and needs to come with her best in order to progress to the semifinals of the India Open.
Sindhu, on the other hand, showed strong character to avoid a first loss to her Thai opponent. She had defeated Ongbumrungphan five times in the past, and maintained her unbeaten streak after coming back from a game down.
Sindhu was tested by Ongbumrungphan, who played some brilliant badminton to win the first game 21-17. Sindhu came back into the match, with some aggressive smashes down the line, which lifted her confidence. After a hard fought battle, Sindhu prevailed 21-19, 21-16 in the last two games.
However, Sindhu made a number of unforced errors as well, which nearly cost her the match.
"It was a close match and it is good to have a tough opponent early in the tournament because it helps you to adjust with the conditions. I was playing her after a long time and I made lot of unforced errors. I was leading and then giving away points. Even some line judgements were not right. I am happy to win and hope to play better tomorrow," PTI quoted Sindhu as saying.
India's result in the men's doubles was disappointing, with Indian pairing of Manu Attri and B.Sumeeth Reddy losing to Chen Hung and Chi-Lin Wang, 21-19, 21-12. Manu Attri, paired alongside Ashwini Ponnappa in the mixed doubles, also lost to Zhang Wen and Jia Yifan, 21-10, 21-17.
