Thailand Open badminton: Kiran stuns Shi Yuqi; Saina, Ashmita too win

Ashmita will next face Rio Olympics gold-medallist and fourth seed Carolina Marin while Saina is likely to meet He Bing Jiao of China

India’s Kiran George scripted a stunning straight-games win over world number 9 Shi Yuqi of China to storm into the pre-quarterfinals of the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament here on May 31.

Ashmita Chaliha and Saina Nehwal also made winning starts to their campaign in women's singles.

On a day when Kidambi Srikanth and B. Sai Praneeth made early exits, Odisha Open winner Kiran, a product of the Prakash Padukone Badminton Academy, notched up a 21-18 22-20 win over third seed Shi Yu Qi, who is a 2018 world championships silver-medallist

Kiran will take on China's Weng Hong Yang next.

Also read | Sai Praneeth, Kiran George in men’s singles second round in Thailand Open

In other matches, Ashmita, who came through the qualifiers, beat compatriot Malvika Bansod 17-21 14-21, while London Olympics bronze-medallist Saina defeated Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang 21-13 21-7.

Ashmita will next face Rio Olympics gold-medallist Carolina Marin, who is seeded fourth, while Saina is likely to meet He Bing Jiao of China.