Reigning world champion P.V. Sindhu sailed into the pre-quarterfinals with a convincing win over former Olympic gold-medallist Li Xuerui but Saina Nehwal crashed out of the China Open Super 1000 tournament here on Wednesday.
India’s top shuttler Sindhu beat Li Xuerui 21-18 21-12 in just 34 minutes of action.
Replicating her world championship form, the Olympic silver-medallist produced another strong performance to get the better of the currently 20th-ranked Chinese, who entered the match with a 3-3 record against the Indian.
However, Saina made an early exit after losing to Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the women’s singles.
The London Olympics bronze-medallist lost 10-21 17-21 at the hands of the World No.19 Ongbamrungphan in a match that lasted for 44 minutes at the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium.
It was the former world number one’s second successive loss to the Thai player.
The 29-year-old Saina has struggled for form following her recovery from injuries.
The Indian started her season with a win at the Indonesia Open but has failed to reach another final on the BWF circuit so far.
In other matches of the day featuring Indian shuttlers, B Sai Praneeth defeated Thailand’s Suppanyu Avihingsanon 21-19 21-23 21-14 to make the next round of the men’s singles event.
The duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy lost to Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich 12-21 21-23.
