The big story: Dominant Saina Nehwal brushes aside Yip Pui Yin

There was no stopping Saina Nehwal in the Malaysian Masters as she romped to a 21-13, 21-10 win against Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin on Saturday at Sarawak.

It was Yin who grabbed the lead in the first game, reeling off six points in a stretch. From being 4-7 down, Nehwal tormented her opponent to blitz her way into clinching the first game 21-13. There was no stopping the top seed from there as she cruised to victory in the second game too, winning 21-10.

Nehwal will be facing Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the final on Sunday.

Other top stories

Cricket

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  • Former Board of Control for Cricket in India chief Anurag Thakur was elected Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association president for a fourth consecutive time. 
  • Indian opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan and pacer Ishant Sharma will be a part of the Delhi squad for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. 
  • Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly will have a stand named after him at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, which will be unveiled during the third India-England One-Day International match on Sunday. 
  • Pakistan chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq has blamed fatigue as a reason for his side’s poor form in Australia. The batting legend noted that Pakistan has been playing away from home non-stop for the last six months.
  • In the Big Bash League, Sydney Sixers beat Melbourne Stars by three wickets to enter the last-four of the competition. From a desperate situation, cameos from Johan Botha and Sean Abbott helped Sixers get over the line with an over to spare.
  • Mona Meshram was drafted into the India women side after opener Smriti Mandhana suffered an injury during the Big Bash League.

Football

  • Italian Mario Balotelli has slammed the supporters of French club Bastia, who he claims made monkey chants. It was during the 1-1 draw between French Ligue 1 league-leaders Nice and Bastia that the incident came to light. Balotelli called for action against the alleged racists. 
  • In the I-League, DSK Shivajians drew 1-1 with Churchill Brothers. Shillong Lajong, meanwhile, registered their first win of the season by beating Minerva Punjab 2-1. Mohun Bagan kept their 100% winning record intact by edging past Chennai City 2-1.

Tennis

  • Fifth seed Karolina Pliskova stumbled her way into the last 16 of the Australian Open after managing to ward off a staunch fight by Jelena Ostapenko. Pliskova won 4-6, 6-0, 10-8.
  • Dhruv Sunish lifted the ITF Juniors title after beating Kazakhstan’s Dostanbek Tashbulatov in the final.
  • Mirjana Lucic-Baroni moved to the last 16 of the Australian Open for the first time after beating Maria Sakkari 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Golf

  • SSP Chawrasia suffered in Abu Dhabi after enduring a back nine in the third round. Chawrasia is now tied-73rd.
  • It was not a good day for Gaganjeet Bhullar and Shubhankar Sharma, who dropped shots in the Singapore Open. Bhullar now stands at five-under and tied-for the tournament with three more holes to play in the third round.

Hockey

  • In the Hockey India League, Dabang Mumbai came from 1-3 down to level score in the last minute of the game after it looked like Ranchi Rays were running away with the contest. India regular Nikkin Thimmiah scored a well-taken field goal five minutes from time.