Saina recorded a solid win over Ayane Kurihara of Japan to tempest into the quarters of the Malaysia Open Grand Prix. Top seed Saina, who is the only Indian left in the fray, had an easy outing late on Thursday as she contentedly got the better of her Japnese opponent 21-14, 21-17.
The Hyderabadi will now take on Chinese qualifier Wang Lin, who upset Japanese, seeded-sixth Eriko Hirose, 21-11, 21-15.
Saina had an unmemorable last week as she was handed a shock first-round defeat in the India Open Super Series.