Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal hardly showed any fatigue from a recent bout of chickenpox as she stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of World Badminton Championships with a straight-game victory over Russian Anastasia Prokopenko in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
The 20-year-old, who was laid low by chicken pox just a few days before the championship, outplayed her rival 21-10, 21-17 in 27 minutes in the women's singles second round.
The local favourite faces Bulgarian Petya Nedelcheva on Thursday.
Meanwhile, top seed Mi Zhou of Hong Kong beat Kiwi Michelle Chan Ky 21-11, 21-15, while men's number one seed Chong Wei Lee beat Ola Fagbemi of Nigeria 21-11, 21-14.
Mercurial world number four Taufik Hidayat of Indonesia defeated Mathieu Lo Ying Ping 21-17, 21-15 in another men's singles encounter.
Sixth seed Saina, who got a bye in the first round, started aggressively and opened up a 12-8 lead in little time. Leading 16-8 after that, Saina smashed five straight points to pocket the first game easily.
However, she struggled a bit in the next game as a change of ends led to slower drift for her.
In a battle of nerves, the two rivals went neck and neck from 5-5 to 14-14 but after a see-saw battle, it was the Hyderabadi who had the last laugh.
"In the first game, the drift was fast so I played a more attacking game and hit more smashes. She couldn't pick up those but in the same game I was on the other side, so knowing the wind I involved her in some long rallies," Saina told reporters.
"I have played her for the first time but yesterday I saw her play. She has some good drives. I was confident about my game and I am happy that I started on the right note," she added.
The world number six Indian also asserted she was completely fit.
"I am fit and I didn't feel too tired. She was an okay player but tomorrow I play a much tougher opponent, my fitness will be tested," she said.
About the ubiquitous crowd which cheered her every move, Saina said she was hoping for the spectator-count to go up with every match.
"It wasn't very different. I wasn't tense but I think it's good for the game that so many people are cheering the players. It has been a very good support and I hope more crowds will turn up tomorrow," she said.
Chetan moves ahead, Kashyap beaten
In men's singles, 15th seed Chetan Anand steamrolled Bulgarian Stilian Makarski 21-9, 21-17 in a 28-minute match to set up a third round clash with sixth seed Sony Dwi Kuncoro of Indonesia on Thursday.
Sony beat Poland's Przemyslaw Wacha 21-12, 21-13.
P Kashyap created a flutter by winning the first game against World number two Jin Chen but the Indian was outdone by the Chinese laster on and went down 21-14, 10-21, 7-21 in a 53-minute encounter.
Kashyap had a tough time matching up to the high fitness of Jin.
After racing away with the first game with his range of strokes, Kashyap found himself gasping for breath.
"I lost my rhythm after the first match and he was more consistent and fit. But I believe I can beat him if I can get to at least 80-90 per cent of his fitness," Kashyap said.
"I'm happy with my performance because it's not that I couldn't pick up his shots. He was fitter than me. I will be back," he said.
On his match, Chetan said he was not happy with the way he played his second game.
"The first game was okay but I'm not happy with the way I played the second game. I was placing the shuttle mid-court which allowed him to smash. But I realised my mistake at the right time and played to his weakness," Chetan said.
"I next play Sony. I lost to him in 2007 world championship but recently I beat him in the Danish Open in straight games, so I am confident," he added.
Among other Indians, men's doubles pair of Akshay Dewalkar and Jishnu Sanyal squandered a position of strength to go down 21-17, 13-21, 18-21 against 16th seed Vitalij Durkin and Alexandr Nikolaenko of Russia in 40 minutes.
Malaysian coach tests negative for swine flu, discharged
Meanwhile, the Malaysian badminton coach, who was hospitalised for showing swine flu-like symptoms, tested negative for the deadly virus and was discharged from the hospital.
"He has tested negative and was discharged today," Superintendent of the Andhra Pradesh Chest Hospital A B Prasad told PTI.
The coach, whose name was not disclosed on request, was admitted to a the hospital with symptoms of the deadly disease on Monday.
