Barcelona Masters: Saina advances to second round but Prannoy loses

Saina took just 35 minutes to beat her opponent in the first round match

Saina pulls out of Syed Modi International, Lakshya eyes season's 5th title [File] Saina Nehwal | PTI

India's Olympic bronze medallist shuttler Saina Nehwal advanced to the women's singles second round of the USD 170,000 Barcelona Spain Masters with a 21-16 21-14 win over Germany's Yvonne Li in Barcelona on Wednesday.

Saina took just 35 minutes to beat her opponent in the first round match.

Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki N. Reddy also won their mixed doubles first round match against Denmark's Mathias Christiansen and Alexandra Boje 10-21 21-16 21-17.

However, H.S. Prannoy lost to Malaysian Daren Liew 18-21 15-21 to bow out of the tournament.

Saina is looking to keep her Tokyo Olympic hopes alive after an inconsistent outing in 2019 and she also didn't enjoy a good start this year. She has crossed the first round in only one of the three events in 2020.