Asian Games: Saina Nehwal reaches quarterfinals of women's badminton

Ace shuttler Saina Nehwal cruised into the second round of the women's singles at the Asian Games after steamrolling Lydia Cheah of Malaysia in the the second round here today.

The world number three needed just 28 minutes to see off Lydia 21-15 21-17. She will next take on the winner between Yip Pui Yin of Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei's Ma Hsiao Pai in the quarterfinals tomorrow.

The second seed Indian held her serve for most of the time and scored points through her smashes in the first game. She was also better at the net.

Nehwal opened up a 6-1 lead swiftly but Lydia narrowed the gap to 10-12. But the Indian was not bothered much and pocketed the first game easily.

In the next game, Nehwal again raced to a comfortable 6-1 lead before moving to 20-11 but the Indian squandered six match points before closing the match.