Olympic Games 2008 : Hopes with Saina and Anup Sridhar
Shuttlers provided the only silver lining on an otherwise gloomy day for India at the Beijing Olympic Games Sunday.
Shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Anup Sridhar were the only bright spots for India on an overcast day, the gloomy weather a reflection of the Indian mood.
Nehwal, the national champion, registered a 21-18, 21-10 victory over Ukraine’s Larysa Gryga in a mere 28 minutes to move into the singles pre-quarter finals at the Beijing University of Technology Gymnasium.
Saina, world No.15, will take on Chen Wang of Hong Kong, No.5 in the world, someone she had failed to beat in her last two attempts.
After her win over the Ukrainian, Saina said: “I had not played her earlier, so I could not go all out right from the word go. She played a tactical game and played more of down shots, like smash and half-smash and I too made some mistakes. So I needed time to pick her.”
Sridhar, too, breezed into the second round with a 21-16, 21-14 win over Marco Vasconcelos of Portugal. Sridhar set up a second round clash with world No.12 Shoji Sato of Japan.
- Olympic Games 2008 : Past records of India in Olympic Games
- Indian Tennis Players in Olympic Games 2008
- Indian contingent marched into the packed National Stadium, Bird’s Nest
- Olympic Games 2008 : Abhinav Bindra won India's first ever individual Olympic gold
- Abhinav Bindra Creates History in Olympic Games 2008
- Andrews relieved over Duffy's survival