<p> Two-time winner Saina Nehwal and defending champion Parupalli Kashyap made a positive start to their campaign at the Syed Modi International badminton tournament, reaching the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s and men’s singles competition respectively, here on Wednesday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>London Olympics bronze medallist, Saina reached the second round with a 21-7 21-9 thrashing of Matilda Petersen of Sweden in just 28 minutes to set up a clash with Russian Natalia Perminova at Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium here.<br /><br />P V Sindhu beat Malaysia’s Li Lian Yang 21-19, 24-22 to set up a clash with Sabrina Jaquet of Switzerland in the pre-quarters.<br /><br />Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, Kashyap, on the other hand, first notched up a 21-14 21-16 victory over compatriot Anup Sridhar and then registered a 21-10 21-12 win over Malaysia’s Yee Han Chong in his second match of the day to reach the third round, where he will face 12th seed Zulfadli Zulkiffli of Malaysia.<br /><br />Among others in men’s singles, second seed Ajay Jayaram, third seed RMV Gurusaidutt, fourth seed Anand Pawar, sixth seed K Srikanth, seventh seed H S Prannoy, eighth seed Sourabh Verma, 11th seed Sai Praneeth B, 14th seed Arvind Bhat, 16th seed Subhankar Dey and young Aditya Prakash — all reached the pre-quarters. <br /><br />Malaysian Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin, the 13th seed, also reached the third round.<br />Newly-crowned National champion Srikanth had everything going his way as he first defeated Mayank Behal 21-15 21-15 and then beat Malaysia’s Kian Meng Tan 21-16 22-20. He will meet former national champion Arvind Bhat, who posted a a 21-14 19-21 21-14 win over Joo Ven Soong of Malaysia. Prannoy defeated Mohit Kamat 21-17 21-12 and then prevailed over Malaysia’s Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub 21-16 19-21 21-9. <br /><br />In women’s singles, Saili Rane and Dhanya Nair also reached the pre-quarters. While Saili beat qualifier Sanchali Dasgupta 21-15 21-15, Dhanya defeated Delhi shuttler Rachita Sachdev 21-11 21-9 in another match.</p>
<p> Two-time winner Saina Nehwal and defending champion Parupalli Kashyap made a positive start to their campaign at the Syed Modi International badminton tournament, reaching the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s and men’s singles competition respectively, here on Wednesday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>London Olympics bronze medallist, Saina reached the second round with a 21-7 21-9 thrashing of Matilda Petersen of Sweden in just 28 minutes to set up a clash with Russian Natalia Perminova at Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium here.<br /><br />P V Sindhu beat Malaysia’s Li Lian Yang 21-19, 24-22 to set up a clash with Sabrina Jaquet of Switzerland in the pre-quarters.<br /><br />Commonwealth Games bronze medallist, Kashyap, on the other hand, first notched up a 21-14 21-16 victory over compatriot Anup Sridhar and then registered a 21-10 21-12 win over Malaysia’s Yee Han Chong in his second match of the day to reach the third round, where he will face 12th seed Zulfadli Zulkiffli of Malaysia.<br /><br />Among others in men’s singles, second seed Ajay Jayaram, third seed RMV Gurusaidutt, fourth seed Anand Pawar, sixth seed K Srikanth, seventh seed H S Prannoy, eighth seed Sourabh Verma, 11th seed Sai Praneeth B, 14th seed Arvind Bhat, 16th seed Subhankar Dey and young Aditya Prakash — all reached the pre-quarters. <br /><br />Malaysian Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin, the 13th seed, also reached the third round.<br />Newly-crowned National champion Srikanth had everything going his way as he first defeated Mayank Behal 21-15 21-15 and then beat Malaysia’s Kian Meng Tan 21-16 22-20. He will meet former national champion Arvind Bhat, who posted a a 21-14 19-21 21-14 win over Joo Ven Soong of Malaysia. Prannoy defeated Mohit Kamat 21-17 21-12 and then prevailed over Malaysia’s Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub 21-16 19-21 21-9. <br /><br />In women’s singles, Saili Rane and Dhanya Nair also reached the pre-quarters. While Saili beat qualifier Sanchali Dasgupta 21-15 21-15, Dhanya defeated Delhi shuttler Rachita Sachdev 21-11 21-9 in another match.</p>