Saina Nehwal started her title defense by moving into the second round of the Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong Open badminton tournament with a 21-4, 21-17 win over Tsz Ka Chan (Hong Kong) on Wednesday. The much criticized player, after her tremendous form in the 2010, had very lean patch in her career. The emerged form at Yonex throws into sharp relief, Saina’s performances in major tournaments this year, ever since her return from an ankle injury that put her out of action for two months. Fourth-seeded Saina will next take on Jie Yao of the Netherlands.

Arvind Bhat and Gurusai Dutt also advanced to the second round of men's singles. Meanwhile, Ajay Jayaram, who reached the last 16 at the World Championships stunned world No. 6 Sho Sasaki in his opening match of the men's singles event. Jayaram will clash on with Jie Yao of Holland in the second round. Bhat will play second-seeded Chinese Long Chen while Gurusai Dutt takes on another Chinese Pengyu Du, seeded seventh.