Saina Nehwal edges past Ratchanok Intanon at Indonesia Open

Saina Nehwal bounced back from a game down to register a 17-21, 21-18, 21-12 win over the eighth seeded Ratchanok Intanon in a gruelling contest that lasted for 57 minutes.

Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal came out with a splendid performance against Thailand’s Ratchanok Intanon to enter the second round of the Indonesia Open Superseries Premier on Tuesday.

Saina Nehwal has progressed to the second round of Indonesia Open Superseries Premier. (PTI)

READ | Saina Nehwal loses in semis, B Sai Praneeth enters Thailand Open final

Nehwal bounced back from a game down to register a 17-21, 21-18, 21-12 win over the eighth seeded Intanon in a gruelling contest that lasted for 57 minutes.

The 27-year-old Indian got off to a good start in the first game, taking a 10-4 lead before her Intanon came back strongly and won the game 21-17.

However in the second game, Nehwal did not let the advantage go off her hands and levelled the match by winning the second game 21-18.

Nehwal, who has been struggling with her fitness and form and had slipped out of the world top 10 for the first time in last seven years, dominated the third game completely and won the game 21-12.

@NSaina berhasil melaju ke babak selanjutnya usai menaklukkan Ratchanok Intanon 17-21 21-18 dan 21-12! Dukung terus Saina di #BIO2017 pic.twitter.com/oFpyZtmi2I

— Djarum Badminton (@DjarumBadminton) June 13, 2017

Meanwhile, in the mixed doubles event, the Indian pair of B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa suffered a straight games defeat at the hand of Indonesian duo of Irfan Fadhilah and Weni Anggraini.

READ | Saina Nehwal, B Sai Praneeth progress to Thailand Open semifinals

The Indian pair was defeated 12-21, 9-21 that lasted for just 29 minutes.