Macau: 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.
