Saina, Srikanth, Kashyap in Malaysia Open second round

Kuala Lumpur, April 1, 2015: Leading Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the second round of the $500,000 Malaysia Open Superseries Premier at the Putra Stadium here on Wednesday. While World No.2 Saina registered a comprehensive 21-13, 21-16 victory over Indonesian Maria Febe Kudumastuti, World No.4 Srikanth overcame Englishman Rajiv Ouseph 21-10, 15-21, 24-22 in 56 minutes in the first round. Also advancing to the second round were Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap and World No.17 H.S. Prannoy. While World No.13 Kashyap moved past South Korean Lee Dong Keun 21-15, 11-21, 21-14 in an hour and 11 minutes, Prannoy defeated a spirited Irishman Scott Evans 22-20, 21-18 in 40 minutes. However, Indian men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy was handed a 11-21, 17-21 thrashing in 30 minutes by the Indonesian team of Andrei Adistia and Hendra Aprida Gunawan. In the second round on Thursday, Olympic bronze medallist and World No.2 Saina will face Chinese qualifier Xue Yao. Xue defeated Thailand's Busanan Ongbumrungpan 21-11, 11-21, 21-15. The Hyderabadi is assured of the top rank when the Badminton World Federation (BWF) releases its latest rankings on Thursday. Srikanth will face Indonesian qualifier Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka, who battled past Vietnam's Tien Minh Nguyen 18-21, 21-11, 21-14.