Saina seeded second in Asian Games singles

Wed, Oct 27 10 09:08 PM

Mumbai, Oct 27 (PTI) India''s best bet in badminton, Saina Nehwal, is seeded second and given a first round bye in the women''s singles at next month''s Asian Games in Guangzhou, but faces a tough task in the quarter finals. The badminton competitions, in which seven gold medals are at stake, would be held from November 13-21. Saina, currently the world no 3 behind top ranked Chinese Xin Wang and Yihan Wang, is expected to get past either Lydia Cheah of Malaysia or Vietnam''s Thi Trang Vu, who are to clash in round one. The 20-year-old Indian star, who made it to the Beijing Olympic Games quarter finals two years ago, has beaten Lydia when they met in the final of the Chinese Taipei Open in 2008. Saina''s rising stature and her recent form going into the Asian Games on the back of the Commmonwealth Games gold should stand her in good stead if she is to face the 21-year-old Malaysian girl. The Vietnamese is, however, an unknown commodity for the Indian medal hope as the two have never met before in an international competition at the senior level. A victory in round two would pilot the Hyderabad-based Indian world junior champion straight into a potentially dangerous clash with Hong Kong''s World no 12 Pui Yin Yip, seeded sixth. They have a 1-1 head-to-head record till now, with the Haryana-born Saina having conquered Pui in straight games last year in the French Open after having lost to the Hong Kong girl in the 2007 Swiss Open. .

Source: Published>