12 May,2009 03:12 PM IST | | PTI
Saina Nehwal sizzled as India routed Ukraine 5-0 in Group 3B to stay on course for a promotion to the next tier of the Sudirman Cup badminton tournament today.
After steamrolling Australia 4-1 in their tournament opener, Saina and her compatriots put up a better show today at the Guangzhou Stadium to blank their opponent.
World No 10 Saina was in full control of her match against Mariya Diptan whom she dismissed 21-18 21-9 in just 22 minutes.
Arvind Bhat too ambled to an easy win, defeating Valeriy Atrashchenkov 21-16 21-11 in a 31-minute encounter.
Earlier, Sanave Thomas teamed up with Rupesh Kumar to give India 1-0 lead by outplaying Vitaly Konov and Dmytro Zavadsky 21-14 21-6 in just 21 minutes.
Aparna Balan and Shruti Kurian too hardly broke a sweat as they thumped Larisa Griga and Elena Prus 21-7 21-14.
The seasoned mixed doubles pair of V Diju and Jwalla Gutta quelled a late challenge from Dmytro Zavadsky and Mariya Diptan before taming them 21-15 22-20 to complete the rout.
India's third and final game in Group 3B is against Scotland tomorrow. If India top the group, they would take on the country that finishes on top of Group 3A and the winner would be promoted to Group 2.
