Saina cruises in round two

Olympic bronze medallist and top seed Saina Nehwal yesterday advanced to the second round of the women's singles event at the $200,000 India Open Super Series badminton here.

India's Saina Nehwal. Pic/Getty Images

Saina beat Belaetrix Manuputi of Indonesia 21-12, 21-15 at the Siri Fort Sports Complex. It was Saina's second victory over Belaetrix.u00a0The Indian later said she was satisfied with her performance.

"It is a good start to the tournament and I am satisfied with my performance. Belaetrix is a very talented player and she plays well at the net so I was ready for her cross-court shots.

She is slow on the court and I was also prepared for long rallies. My smashes were good and that helped me earn quite a lot of points," said the World No 2 shuttler.

Saina next takes on unseeded Japanese Yui Hashimoto in the second round. The Japanese is ranked 44 in the word. u00a0"Yui is an upcoming player from Japan. I have seen videos of her and I am prepared for her," Saina signed off.