BWF World Championship 2022: Saina Nehwal wins; head to head; highlights

Saina Nehwal proceeds to the round of 32 after winning her first match at BWF World Championship 2022. Gayatri Gopichand and Jolly Treesa win against Low Yeen Yuan and Valeree Siow

Saina Nehwal exhibited a classy performance against Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi in the Badminton World Federation Championships 2022 in Tokyo, Japan. The match was finished within 40 minutes and she qualified for round 3 as Nozomi Okuhara of Japan pulled out of the tournament due to injury. India's star PV Sindhu will also not be seen in the BWF world championship 2022.

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After defeating Cheung Ngan Yi by 21-19 and 21-9 to reach the second round of the event, Saina will be playing the second round directly as her competitor Nozomi Okuhara withdrew due to injury. Saina will be up against the winner of the second-round match between 12th seed Yvonne Li of Germany and Busana Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand.

Saina was dominant throughout the match. She was supported and was getting mentored by her husband and former Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap from the sidelines. As compared to her previous games, she was looking more confident and strong which led to this comeback.

Saina Nehwal's head-to-head record against Cheung Ngan Yi

Saina Nehwal has played against the Cheung Ngan Yi five times. After today's win, Saina leads the head-to-head 4-1

How important is BWF World Championship for Saina Nehwal and other badminton players?

If Saina Nehwal performs well in the Tokyo, BWF World Championships, it would be a big chance for her as she was not available for the Olympics and Commonwealth games campaigns. Currently, she is looking in red-hot form and will probably lead India to another title.

For other Indian players, this would be a great chance to establish India's identity as a badminton-playing nation like China or Singapore. India's badminton players have been exceptional in the Commonwealth Games 2022 and the Tokyo Olympics of 2020. Every good match is making India a more dominant nation in Badminton.

BWF World Championship: Key Highlights

Saina Nehwal recovers from a sluggish run as she wins against Hong Kong's Cheung Ngan Yi. The former badminton champion will play the pre-quarterfinals as Japanese player Nozomi Okuhara is injured.

Treesa Jolly-Gayatri Gopichand also defeated Low Yeen Yuan and Valeree Siow of Malaysia, to encounter CWG champions Pearly Tan-Thinaah Muralitharan in their next game.

Shikha Gautam-Ashwini Bhat also defeated the Italian pair of Martina Corsini-Judith Mair and will play against Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong from Korea in their next match.

Where can you watch the BWF World Championship?

According to the reports, BWF World Championships will be telecast live on Sporst18 and live streamed on Voot Select. Moreover, you can follow some news streaming portals that are covering the live event.


(Written by Zuhair Zaidi)