India’s highest ranked badminton player Saina Nehwal began her Olympics 2016 campaign with a hard-fought win over Brazil’s Lohaynny Vicente in the women's singles event on Thursday.
Local favourite Vicente made sure that Nehwal had to dig deep in the first set to gain the upper hand. Eventually, Nehwal bagged the first set 21-17. In the second set, Vicente, cheered by the crowd, kept the pressure on but Nehwal prevailed in the second set 21-17 to win the match.
Nehwal, seeded fifth in the tournament, is placed in Group G, which includes Ukraine’s Maria Ulitina, ranked 61st in the world, and Brazil’s Lohaynny Vicente, ranked 74th. Nehwal is expected to easily clear the group and progress to the knockout round.
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