India’s star badminton duo Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu advanced to quarter-final of the Hong Kong open with contrasting wins in their second round matches.

Fifth-seeded Saina weathered a three-game battle to book her ticket to the quarter-finals with a 21-18, 9-21, 21-16 win over Japan’s Sayaka Sato.

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Sindhu, on the other hand, took the easier route to quarterfinals of the Hong Kong Open Super Series with a 21-10, 21-14 victory over Taiwan’s Hsu Ya Ching.

Sindhu is in fine form, having clinched her first ever Super Series title last week in the China Open. 

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This means Saina and Sindhu are on track to face each other in the semi-final in what could be a blockbuster match for Indian fans.

Saina will take on local favourite Ngan Yi Cheung in the quarter-final while Sindhu is up against Singapore’s Xiaoyu Liang in their respective quarter-finals.

In the men’s draw, HS Prannoy lost his 2nd round match whereas Ajay Jayaram proceeded to the quarter-final.

Top ranked Carolina Marin, meanwhile, vowed will not rest until she’s captured the World Super Series Final in Dubai, after cruising through her second-round match at the Hong Kong Open.

The two-time world champion is already set to finish 2016 on a career high after becoming the first non-Asian to win the women’s singles gold medal at the Summer Olympics.

The historic victory came months after Marin secured her second European Championship title, consolidating her position as the world number one in the Badminton World Federation’s global rankings.

But outside of the Olympic triumph, Marin is still looking to grab her first Super Series trophy for 2016.

“I would like to end the year with the title in Dubai,” the 23 year old told AFP, as she brushed off suggestions that anyone threatened her reign at the top.

“When you control yourself and when you do what you know on the court, you can beat anyone.”

The defending Hong Kong Open champ overcame an early deficit to beat local Yip Pui Yin in straight games, 21-18, 21-16, as the Spaniard’s signature shrieks drew the occasional jeer from the partisan crowd.

With AFP inputs