Saina battles into the second round of Macau Open

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal on Wednesday fought hard to defeat Indonesia's Hanna Ramadini and enter the second round in the women's singles event of the Macau Open Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament.

Saina defeated World No. 44 Hanna 21-23, 21-14, 21-18 in a match that lasted more than an hour. She will take on Dinar Dyah Ayustine in the second round.

Earlier in the day, Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap reached the pre-quarterfinals of the men's singles event, but it was curtains for Hong Kong Super Series finalist Sameer Verma.

30-year-old Kashyap, who hails from Hyderabad, registered a comfortable 21-19, 21-8 win over Wei Chen in a one-sided second-round clash that lasted about 30 minutes.

On the other hand, Verma went down 18-21, 13-21 against Indonesia's Muhammad Bayu Pangisthu.