London Olympic bronze medalist Saina Nehwal made her winning debut in the Orleans Masters badminton tournament by defeating Rachel Daragh of Ireland in straight games in the opening round of the women’s singles on Wednesday. The fourth-seeded Indian, desperate to earn a ranking point as part of his fourth Olympic qualification campaign, defeated Rachel 21-9, 21-5 in just 21 minutes. Now she will face Marie Batomin of France.
Saina had decided to pull out in the opening round of the All England Open Championship last week due to injury. Top Indian male player Kidambi Srikanth entered the third round after beating compatriot Ajay Jayaram 21-15, 21-10 in 25 minutes. Srikanth got a bye in the first round, while Ajay defeated fellow Indian Alap Mishra 19-21, 23-21, 21-16.
The pair of Pranav and Sikki also progressed
The mixed doubles pair of Pranav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy defeated Austrian Dominic Stipsuits and Serena Yu Yiong 21-7, 21-18. Now the Indian pair will face Denmark’s Niklas Nohar and Amali Magellan. Ira Sharma, who reached the main draw from the women’s singles qualification, defeated Leonis Huet of France 12-21, 21-14, 21-17 and will now face Maria Mitasova of Bulgaria.
