Saina sails into quarters of Korea Open

Saina sails into quarters of Korea Open

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal sailed into the Korea Open Super Series quarterfinals after notching up a straight-game victory over Shao Chieh Cheng of Chinese Taipei in the second round in Seoul on Thursday. Fourth seed Saina registered a 21-14 21-10 win over Cheng in a 36-minute battle in women's singles. The Indian will next take on the winner of the match between China's Yanjiao Jiang and Inthanon Ratchanok of Thailand. Commonwealth Games gold medal-winning pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, however, were defeated by the formidable combo of top seed Xiaoli Wang and Yang Yu of China 10-21 17-21 in 34 minutes. Saina didn't break much sweat against the world number 11 Cheng and tired her rival by engaging her in rallies. The World number four Indian opened a four-point lead first up and then stretched it to 10-2. Cheng registered five straight points and tried to give some fight but it was Saina who pocketed the game. In the second game, after lagging 0-3, Saina caught her opponent at the nets to draw level. A couple of unforced errors and a disputable line call, helped her rival to move to 7-3. Saina engaged her opponent in long rallies and forced her to commit errors to move to 7-7 before taking the lead. The World Championship silver medallist didn't get her shots right as a lot of her half smashes went into the net or outside as Saina went into the break leading 11-7. Saina ruled the roost after the break and moved to 14-8. The Indian varied the pace of the game and judged her rival well to gain points, reaching 20-9. Cheng earned a point with a smash but after she hit a shot outside, Saina easily pocketed the match.

Explosion in China kills 3

China, three people have been killed and four others injured in an explosion in a workshop in Zhejiang Province. Local authorities today said the accident occured last evening when a reaction kettle exploded and triggered a fire in a chemical plant located in the Nanhu district of Jiaxing city.

According to fire fighters, all seven workers trapped in the workshop were rescued shortly afterward, but two died at the scene and another died after medical treatment failed. Police said an investigation on the accident is under way.