BWF Malaysia Open | Srikanth and Sindhu book quarter final berth; Saina crashes out

Playing the last match of the day, Sindhu looked up for the challenge right from the get go. After she shared the first four points with Lee, Sindhu raced away to an 11-4 lead at the interval before taking the next three points as well. Lee appeared to be struggling to keep up with the Indian and within no time found herself to be down 12 game points. Sindhu needed just one to secure the first game 21-8 in just 15 minutes. The second game was a little more competitive as Lee tried to keep Sindhu within her reach trailing by just one point with the scoreboard reading 8-7 in the Indian’s favour. However, the Indian took the next five points to amass a lead that proved to be too big for the Malaysian to overturn. Sindhu eventually took the second game 21-14 to set up a quarter final clash against Carolina Marin. 

However, India had suffered a setback earlier in the day as Saina bowed out of the tournament after a straight games defeat to Yamaguchi. The signs were there from the start as the Japanese star took the first two points only to see Saina draw level two points later. However, that was the last time that both players were level as Yamaguchi showed off her exceptional stamina to take the first game 21-15. The second game was almost identical to the first one as Saina drew level at 2-2 after being down by two points only to lose the game and the match 21-13.