Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal advanced to the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open Grand Prix Gold after registering a thrilling three-game win in the women's singles second round here on Thursday.
World No. 4 Saina beat unseeded Japanese shuttler Mitani Minatsu 21-13, 15-21, 21-7 in a 46-minute match to set up a clash with seventh seed Xuerui Li in the quarterfinals.
In men's singles, top Indian P. Kashyap and young gun Sourabh Verma also registered contrasting wins in the pre-quarterfinals to reach the last eight.
Commonwealth Games bronze-medallist Kashyap, seeded 14th, outlasted Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif of Malaysia 21-16, 19-21, 21-12 in a 58-minute match. Sourabh defeated Beng Hong Kuan of Malaysia 21-19, 23-25, 21-14.
Up against the fifth-seeded Chinese pair of Biao Chai and Zhendong Guo, Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas went down 21-8, 21-14 in 30 minutes.
The eighth-seeded women's pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponappa also couldn't cross the first round and suffered a 21-23, 13-21 defeat to Lok Yan Poon and Ying Suet Tse.
The results:
Men: Singles: Pre-quarterfinals: P. Kashyap bt Mohamad Arif Abdul Latif 21-16, 19-21, 21-12; Sourabh Verma bt Beng Hong Kuan 21-19, 23-25, 21-14. Second round: Kashyap bt Sukamta Evert 21-13, 21-14; Sourabh bt Jen Hao Hsu 21-17, 20-22, 21-16; Choong Hann Wong bt Guru Sai Datt 21-13, 19-21, 21-12; Jin ChenbtAjay Jayaram21-12, 15-21, 21-18. First round: Kashyap bt Poodchalat Pisit 21-17, 9-21, 21-11; Sourabh bt Andre Kurniawan Tedjono 15-21, 21-19, 22-20; Guru Sai Dutt bt Kwong Beng Chan 21-10, 20-22, 21-10; Ajay Jayaram bt Tien Chen Chou 21-14, 21-17. Doubles: Biao Chai & Zhendong Guo bt Rupesh Kumar & Sanave Thomas 21-8, 21-14.
Women: Singles: Pre-quarterfinals: Saina Nehwal bt Mitani Minatsu 21-13, 15-21, 21-7. First round: Saina bt Lu Lan 21-17, 14-21, 21-18. Doubles: Lok Yan Poon & Ying Suet Tse bt Jwala Gutta & Ashwini Ponappa 23-21, 21-13. — PTI
