London Olympic bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal stormed into the last-16 of the ongoing 21st Commonwealth Games after thrashing Elsie De Villiers of South Africa in straight-games in the women's singles clash at the Carrara Sports Arena on Wednesday.
Nehwal proved too superior for her South African opponent as she posted comfortable 21-3, 21-1 win in a one-sided round-of-32 that lasted just 18 minutes.
The Indian will next take on Jessica LI of Isle of Man for a place in the quarter-finals.
In another women's singles clash, Rio Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu produced a rich vein of form as she outplayed Fiji's Andra Whiteside 21-6, 21-3 in just 18 minutes to make it to the next round.
Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth also stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of the men's singles event after brushing aside Aatish Lubah of Mauritius 21-13, 21-10 in a match that lasted 26 minutes.
Srikanth will now lock horns with Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka for the last-eight spot.
India are currently standing at the third spot in the Games with a total of 24 medals, including 12 gold, four silver and eight bronze.
ANI
