Asia C'ships: Srikanth, Saina, Sindhu pass first-round tests

While K. Srikanth needed three games to progress to the second round, Saina Nehwal and Sindhu registered straight-game wins in their first-round matches on Wednesday.

Saina Nehwal defeated Singapore's Yeo Jia Min in the first round. File Photo: AFP

K. Srikanth, Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu entered the second round of the Badminton Asia Championships in Wuhan on Wednesday.

Srikanth, now demoted to World No. 5 after having climbed to the top briefly, defeated Kenta Nishimoto of Japan, the current World No. 13, in three games.

The first game was lost tamely 21-13 by the Indian, before Srikanth bounced back to take the next two games 21-16, 21-16. In a contest spanning 61 minutes, Srikanth won 55 points, two more than his opponent.

Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal asserted control over proceedings against Singapore's Yeo Jia Min. She defeated her 101th ranked opponent 21-12, 21-9 in 33 minutes.

Sindhu progressed to the second round with a 21-14, 21-19 win over Chinese Taipei's Pai Yu-po. After a fairly easy first game, Sindhu suffered a mid-game slump in the second before reeling off successive points to recover and clinch the tie.

Sameer Verma lost to Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 23-21, 21-17.