Crowd favourite Saina Nehwal made the pre-quarter-finals of the Yonex Sunrise Badminton Asia championships in the most convincing manner, defeating Porntip Buarnaprasertsuk of Thailand 21-10, 21-13 in little over half-an-hour at the Siri Fort Sports Complex on Wednesday. For the spectators, who cheered the top-seeded Indian all through the encounter, it was an opportunity to watch quality badminton as Saina, ranked sixth in the world, excelled both in court craft and strokeplay to mesmerize her opponent. In the round of 16 on Thursday, Saina will take on Malaysia’s Julia Wong. “Initially I was a bit nervous,” Saina admitted after the match. “I had pressure on me as she (Porntip) was really tough when I played her the last time. I did win the match that day but not before she put up a great fight. Today, all I can say is that I am really happy with my performance,” said Saina. The 20-year-old Hyderbad girl was not far from the truth. The Thailand player was no mean opponent as she had finished runners-up in the junior world championship last year. Yet, Saina cornered her from the very beginning and raced to an 11-0 lead within no time. “I am not thinking about winning the title at the moment,” Saina told reporters after the win. “The main thing is to stay focused and commit minimum errors. It’s a tough draw and I have a long way to go. Thankfully, I am playing my strokes well. All I can say is that I feel confident.” Saina, however, said she faced some problems in adjusting to the newly-laid courts. “There was a bit of a drift. Maybe, I will be able to adjust to it as the tournament progresses.”for further: www.telegraphindia.com/1100415/jsp/sports/story_12340845.jsp
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