Saina in 2nd round of Japan Super Series
Saina Nehwal crossed the first hurdle comfortably but the highlight of the day for the Indians came when Ajay Jayaram registered a stunning victory.
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: September 21, 2011 10:10 PM IST
Saina Nehwal crossed the first hurdle comfortably but the highlight of the day for the Indians came when Ajay Jayaram registered a stunning victory over world number seven Tien Minh Nguyen to send him crashing out of Japan Super Series in straight-games in Tokyo on Wednesday.
Fourth seed Saina defeated Inthanon Ratchanok of Thailand 21-17, 21-10 in a 31-minute women's singles match to set up a second round clash with Mingtian Fu of Singapore.
Commonwealth Games bronze medallist P Kashyap also reached the second round after notching up a 19-21, 21-14, 21-14 victory over Viktor Axelsen of Denmark in the men's singles competition.
However, it was Jayaram who stole the limelight with a stunning 21-18, 21-19 triumph over Tien in a men's singles match that lasted 34 minutes at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
While Jayaram will be up against Indonesian Simon Santoso on Thursday, Kashyap will next take on sixth seed Chinese Jin Chen.
India's top mixed-doubles pair of V Diju and Jwala Gutta too crossed the first hurdle, beating Shintaro Ikeda and Reiko Shiota 22-20, 21-15 in a 34-minute contest.
World Championship bronze medallist, Jwala and Ashwini Ponnappa also didn't break much sweat as they dispatched Chinese Taipei's Hsin Yun Chang and Chia Wen Lai 21-8, 21-17 in just 20 minutes.