World No 212 Wang Zhiyi stuns Saina in 1st round of New Zealand Open

Speed Post News Network

Patna : World No 212 Wang Zhiyi, 19, China, stunned World No 9 and second seed Saina Nehwal, 29, India, in the first round of Barfoot & Thompson New Zealand Open 2019, an HSBC BWF World Tour Super 300 category tournament at Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand, on May 1, 2019.

Wang Zhiyi beat Saina in three games 21-16, 21-23, 21-4 in 67 minutes to advance to the second round. Sang won 63 rallies in the match to 43 by Saina., who had reached quarter-finals of Badminton Asia Championships 2019 at Wuhan, China, last week. Wang won 8 consecutive points to 6 by Saina. It was first meeting between the two players.

World No 15 and 6th seed Li Xuerui, 28, China, the 2012 London Olympics Gold Medallist, beat World No 113 Anura Prabhudesai, India, 21-9, 21-10 in just 20 minutes in the first round.