Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal made it to the quarter-finals of the Hong Kong Open Super Series on Thursday. Nehwal beat Japan’s Sayaka Sato 21-18, 9-21, 21-16 in 51 minutes in an intense encounter.
This is the second tournament Nehwal is taking part in after her knee surgery following the Rio Olympics. She lost in the first round of the China Open last week. If predictions go as planned, she is likely to face her compatriot PV Sindhu, who won the China Open, in the semi-finals of Hong Kong.
Nehwal had earlier defeated Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk 12-21, 21-19, 21-17 in the first round. Nehwal has slipped five places in the latest world rankings to No. 11, while PV Sindhu has climbed two places to No. 9.
In the men’s draw, India’s Sameer Verma advanced to the quarter-finals as well after defeating Japan’s Kazumasa Sakai 19-21, 21-15, 21-11. However, it was the end of the road for HS Prannoy, who lost to Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng 21-15, 11-21, 15-21 in the round of 16.