India’s national badminton champion Saina Nehwal on Thursday, June 26 beat Vietnam’s Nguyen Nhung Le Ngoc 21-9, 21-6 to make her grand entry into the quarter-finals of the Thailand Open badminton championship being held at Bangkok. With the crashing out of compatriot Anup Sridhar, Saina Nehwal now remains the sole face representing the country at this championship. 

Anup Sridhar, who played against second seed Boonsak Ponsana, was ousted out 11-21, 26-28. On the other hand, the local favorite Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk trounced P. Kashyap 21-14, 21-19. Other players Jwala Gutta and Shruti Kurian were defeated by Singapore’s Lei Yao and Shinta Mulia pair by 21-17, 15-21, 21-10 in the first round.