Top-seeded Saina Nehwal didn't disappoint her fans moving into the second round with a fluent 21-10, 21-13 win over Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in the Badminton Asia Championship yesterday. India's ace shuttler will take on Korea's Julia Pei Xian Wong in the next round today. <table style="width: 159px; height: 42px" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="159" align="right" border="1"> <tbody> <tr> <td><img alt="" src="/imagedata/2010/apr/saina-nehwal.jpg" border="0" /></td></tr> <tr> <td> Saina Nehwal goes down in her match against Julia Wong during the India Open last year. Wong won 12-21, 21-13, 21-18. PIC/AFP</td></tr></tbody></table>An elated coach P Gopichand was all smiles after the performance and was looking ahead to the next match. "She played well, and I am sure that she will not disappoint us against Wong in the next round. Saina moved well and was hitting with great timing. Let's hope she plays like this tomorrow as well," said Gopi. Speaking to the media, Saina said, "I have trained hard and even though my draw is tough, I am going to take it match by match." Porntip got the better of Saina when the two met last year. But the Indian ace was in a different league at the Siri Fort Complex yesterday, brushing aside her Thai opponent in emphatic fashion. Saina was in an aggressive mode against Porntip, hitting the bird on both flanks with elan. She took an early lead and never looked back in a clinical display. She later said, "I am happy. At least, the pressure of being the top seed is over. Now, I will try to get on with the job." However, there was disappointment in the men's singles as most Indians in the fray crashed out in the opening round. Anand Pawar, son of former India international, Uday, gave a good account of himself against world champion Lin Dan of China before bowing out 14-21, 12-21. But the young P Kashyap lifted the spirits with two commanding victories. He got the better of Hong Kong's Wing Ki Wong first and then scalped former world champion Icuk Sugiarto's son, Tommy of Indonesia 21-14, 21-16.

Ribery to decide on future in 10 days

Top-seeded Saina Nehwal didn't disappoint her fans moving into the second round with a fluent 21-10, 21-13 win over Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in the Badminton Asia Championship yesterday. 

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