Saina survives first round scare

Against the Korean,though,it was the top-seeded Indian who struggled to close out her opponent within straight sets after claiming the opening game 22-20 relying on her experience. More than a third of her winners came from smashes,as she pulled away from 20-20 in the opener.

But she dropped the next set at 17. In the decider,Nehwal broke away after a 4-point run early on,and was unchallenged after 3-all,to stay ahead and march to a finish.

For the men,good news came in the form of RMV Guru Sai Dutt,who is fast shooting up in frame and performances alike,as he beat Yan Kit Chan of Hong Kong 21-18 21-13. It was 20-year old Gurus flurry of smashes which shut out his first-round opponent in 32 minutes,the Hyderabadi sending down 24 in contrast to the Hong Kong boys 11.

P Kashyap,playing second seed Taufik Hidayat,started well,before the Indonesian wrested control and won the 65-minute encounter 12-21 21-19 21-16. Indias leading challenger Chetan Anand,however,disappointed,going down to familiar foe Wing Ki Wong,tamely losing his first round match 21-15 21-9.