Nehwal and Sindhu register wins at the Malaysia Masters

PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal both had relatively straightforward wins in the second round of the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur.

Nehwal scored an impressive triumph over number eight seed An Se Young, whilst Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu breezed past Japan's Aya Ohori.

PV Sindhu breezes past Ohori

The sixth-seeded PV Sindhu was expected to have an easy outing against Japan’s unseeded Aya Ohori in their second-round match. And the tie panned out in a similar fashion with the Indian registering a 21-10, 21-15 win.

The 23-year-old Japanese had faced the 2016 Olympics silver medallist eight times before Thursday’s match and had lost on all occasions.

Ohori didn’t start positively this time either, letting PV Sindhu gain an early 6-0 lead and the Indian soon capitalised on it to have a comprehensive 11-5 lead at the break.

The Japanese couldn’t really recover from the points difference and it ended with a 11-point deficit in the end, with Sindhu winning the first game 21-10.

PV Sindhu saw a more combative Ohori in the second game but 6-6 was the closest that the Japanese could come. After leading 11-6 at the break, PV Sindhu kept winning points frequently and ended the race 21-15 this time, to enter the quarter-finals.

PV Sindhu will be facing first-seeded [Tai Tzu Ying](Tai Tzu Ying).

Saina Nehwal downs upcoming star Young

Saina Nehwal had a tricky outing against South Korea’s An Se Young in the second round of the Malaysia Masters but the veteran shuttler overcame the challenge 25-23, 21-12 using all her experience.

Seeded eighth in the tournament, Young went toe-to-toe with the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist till the very end before the 29-year-old dug deep into her reserves to eke out a 25-23 win in the first game.

The South Korean couldn’t carry her intensity into the second game and following the break, Saina Nehwal took over the game completely. With the scoreline reading 16-12 in Saina Nehwal’s favour, the Indian went on to win five consecutive points and sealed the match 25-23, 21-12.

Saina Nehwal will be facing old adversary Carolina Marin in the quarter-finals of the Malaysia Masters on Friday after the Spaniard defeated China’s Cai Yan Yan in straight games as well.

Saina Nehwal and Carolina Marin faced off in the semi-finals of the last edition of Malaysia Masters, where the Indian was beaten in straight games. The 2016 Olympics gold medallist has faced Saina Nehwal on 12 occasions, winning six of those encounters.