Saina Nehwal, Sai Praneeth enter pre-quarters of World Badminton Championships

Saina Nehwal, the 12th seed in the tournament, will now cross swords with either India`s Tanvi Lad or second-seed Sung Ji Hyun of Korea for a place in the quarter-finals. Sai Praneeth will now face off against Germany`s Marc Zwiebler or sixth-seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the third round.

Glasgow: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal kicked off her campaign at the 2017 World Badminton Championships on a winning note as she eased past Sabrina Jaquet of Switzerland in straight games in the women`s singles event here on Wednesday.

The 27-year-old, who got a first-round bye, registered a comfortable 21-11, 21-12 win over her Swiss opponent Jaquet in a one-sided second round clash that lasted just few minutes more than half an hour.

Nehwal, the 12th seed in the tournament, will now cross swords with either India`s Tanvi Lad or second-seed Sung Ji Hyun of Korea for a place in the quarter-finals.In men`s singles clash, B. Sai Praneeth produced a spirited performance as he bounced back from a game down against Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia to storm into the pre-quarterfinals.

After losing the first game, Praneeth came back strongly to register a 14-21, 21-18, 21-19 win over his Indonesian opponent in a thrilling second-round clash that lasted one hour and 12 minutes.

He will now face off against Germany`s Marc Zwiebler or sixth-seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the third round.