Hong Kong Open: Saina Nehwal beats World No. 11 Sayaka Sato, moves into quarter-final

New Delhi: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal continued her winning streak by advancing into the quarter-final of Hong Kong Open. The Hyderabadi shuttler defeated World No. 11 Sayaka Sato 18-21, 21-9, 21-16.

After losing the first game in a closely fought contest, Saina got back into rhythm to seal the next two games in style.

Saina, on a comeback trail, was the first to take the field and she recorded a hard-fought 12-21 21-19 21-17 win over Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk in the opening round at the Hong Kong Coliseum.

London Olympics bronze medallist Saina, who had lost to Porntip in the opening round at China Open after making a comeback following a three-month lay-off due to injury, avenged the defeat with her win today over the World No. 12 Thai shuttler.

In men's category, HS Prannoy lost to Malaysia's Chong Wei Feng 21-15, 11-21, 15-21 in the round of 16. He had beaten China's Qiao Bin 21-16, 21-18 on Wednesday.

Sameer Verma advanced to the quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open Super Series after defeating Japan's Kazumasa Sakai 19-21 21-15 21-11 in a match that lasted 53 minutes.