Sizzling Saina sails into 2nd round

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal toyed with her Russian opponent Ella Karachkova before thrashing her in straight games.

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal toyed with her Russian opponent Ella Karachkova before thrashing her in straight games to storm into the second round of the women’s singles event of the badminton competition at the Beijing Olympics on Saturday.

The national champion looked in sublime form as she needed less than half an hour to oust Karachkova 21-9 21-8 to breeze into the second round where Ukrainian Larysa Gryga awaits her.

In a gross lop-sided match, Saina showed her bag of tricks that had her Russian rival in all sort of troubles and the Indian

later said she did not go full throttle because she wanted to try some different things today.

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“I did not play my usual game and hit less smash. Instead, I was trying more drop shots. The first round match is always tough because you tend to make mistakes early but I’m happy that everything went according to the script,” she said.

Asked about how she felt in Beijing, Saina said, “I think I adjusted fast to the court, conditions, breeze and atmosphere here. It was wonderful playing in front of such a vociferous crowd.”