China Open: Saina Nehwal advances to second round; Ajay Jayaram bows out

Saina defeated Yu in straight sets 22-20, 21-18.

New Delhi: India sensation and top-seeded shuttler Saina Nehwal defeated World No 11 Chinese Sun Yu in 49 minutes to reach the second round of the China Open Super Series Badminton on Wednesday.

World No. 2 and defending champion Saina won the game in straight games 22-20, 21-18. Saina now has a 5-1 winning record against localite Sun Yu.

In another women's singles match, P.V Sindhu beat her Russian opponent Ksenia Polikarpova in straight sets 21-14, 21-9.

On the other hand, upcoming star in men's badminton Ajay Jayaram, lost his first round clash against World No. 1 shuttler Chen Long 12-21, 11-21. The Indian shuttler had earlier lost against Long in the final of Korean Open Super Series a few months ago.

In the men's section in other results, Prannoy Kumar battled hard but fell to Chinese opponent Guo Kai 14-21, 21-17, 19-21. Also Kadambi Srikanth crashed out of the tournament after losing his first-round encounter to Hu Yun of Hong Kong 21-12, 21-18.

(With Agency inputs)