Defending champ Saina reaches pre-quarters in Thai Grand Prix

Bangkok: Defending champion Saina Nehwal led the Indian charge as six of them reached pre-quarterfinals of Thailand Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament. Besides Saina, rising star Arundhati Pantawane advanced to the pre-quarterfinals in women’s singles event while Anand Pawar, H S Prannoy, Sai Praneeth and K Srikanth also made it to the last 16 stage in men’s section. World No 2 Saina didn’t break much sweat as she prevailed over Shih Han Hung of Chinese Taipei 21-11 21-16 in a 29-minute match here. The 23-year-old from Hyderabad will next take on Febby Angguni of Indonesia in the second round today. [caption id=“attachment_846457” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File phot of Saina Nehwal. Reuters[/caption] Nagpur shuttler Arundhati saw off Min Ji Lee of Korea 14-21 21-9 21-15 in a 45-minute battle in the opening round. Arundhati will next meet the winner of fifth seed Sapsiree Taerattanachai of Thailand and Yeni Asmarani of Indonesia. In men’s singles, Praneeth scored an upset win over fourth-seed Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia 21-12 18-21 21-18 to enter the pre-quarterfinals round. Earlier in the day, Praneeth stunned 2003 All England Champion Muhammad Hafiz Hashim of Malaysia 21-12 9-21 22-20. In the other second round encounters, Prannoy shocked compatriot and fifth-seed Ajay Jayaram 14-21 21-16 21-13 in a match that lasted 52 minutes. In the pre-quarterfinals, Prannoy runs into 10th seed compatriot Anand Pawar who got the better of Poodchalat Pisit of Thailand who retired hurt. Pawar had won the first game 21-14. K Srikanth overwhelmed England’s Toby Penty 21-4 21-14 in a 24-minute second round contest to enter the pre-quarterfinals. However, PC Thulasi suffered a 14-21 17-21 loss to third seed Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in another women’s singles match. Sourabh Varma, seeded eighth, lost tO Wan Ho Son of Korea 12-21 17-21 in a 45-minute men’s singles second round contest. PTI