Badminton News: Saina Nehwal knocked out of Malaysia Open

Top Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the second round of the Malaysian Open World Tour Super 750 tournament. Olympic and world championship silver medallist Sindhu staved off a spirited challenge from World no 20 Aya Ohori 22-20 21-12 to record her sixth win over the Japanese, while India Open finalist Srikanth beat Indonesia’s Ihsan Maulana Mustofa 21-18 21-16 in just 38 minutes. Fifth seed Sindhu will now look to avenge her All England loss against Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun, whom she faces next, while Srikanth will meet Thailand’s Khosit Phetpradab. Eighth seed Saina, who came into the tournament after recovering from a pancreas infection, fought hard before going down 22-20 15-21 10-21 to Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong.