Wuhan (China): Commonwealth Games gold medallist Saina Nehwal and Olympic silver medallist P.V. Sindhu produced dominant performance to enter the women’s singles quarter-finals of the Asia badminton championship here on Thursday.
Top seed Kidambi Srikanth and world number 10 H.S. Prannoy also advanced to the last eight stage in men’s singles in contrasting fashion.
Saina, a London Olympics bronze medallist, continued her impressive run as she kept a tight leash on China’s Gao Fangjie, outwitting her 21-18, 21-8 in a 40-minute clash. The former world number one will now face unseeded Korean Lee Jang Mi, who saw off Thailand’s former world champion Ratchanok Intanon.
Third seed Sindhu, who won a silver at the Commonwealth Games, too notched up a commanding 21-12, 21-15 win over another Chinese Chen Xiaoxin in another pre-quarterfinal match. She will take on either seventh seed Korean Sung Ji Hyun or Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan next.
Srikanth did not have to break sweat as his opponent Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki Vincent retired at 2-7 in the first game to hand the quarter-final spot to the Indian, who had held the world number one spot for a week this month. The 25-year-old faces three-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei on Friday.
Srikanth beat Lee en route India’s gold medal in the mixed team championship of the Commonwealth Games but the Malaysian exacted revenge in the individual final at Gold Coast.
Prannoy, who reached the quarter-finals of the All England Champio-nship, eked out a 16-21, 21-14, 21-12 win over Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei.
