Saina enters Malaysia Masters quarters, to face Marin

Kuala Lumpur, Jan 9 (IANS) Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal on Thursday came out with a spectacular performance as she defeated South Korea's An Se Young in her second-round clash of the ongoing Malaysia Masters.

The London Olympics bronze medallist defeated eight-seed Young 25-23, 21-12 in a match that lasted for 39 minutes to make it to the quarter-finals.

In the first game, Saina was made to work hard by the 17-year-old as both the shuttlers kept going at each other. But, it was the Indian who had the last laugh and ultimately won the game 25-23.

The Hyderabadi shuttler, however, didn't have to sweat too much in the second game as she won comfortably by a 21-12 margin to enter the last eight of the competition. Saina on Wednesday had registered a convincing 21-15, 21-17 win over Belgium's Lianne Tan.

She will now face Rio Olympic gold medallist Carolina Marin of Spain -- who defeated China's Cai Yanyan 21-4, 24-22 -- for a semi-final berth in the Super 500 tournament.