Nanjing (China), Aug 2: Indian star Saina Nehwal defeated Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand in straight games to enter the women's singles quarter-finals at the Badminton World Championships here on Thursday.

The 10th seeded Hyderabad based shuttler needed just 47 minutes to defeat her fourth seeded opponent 21-16, 21-19.

Saina thus became the first ever women's singles player to reach eight consecutive quarter-finals at the Badminton World Championships.

Saina will meet seventh seed Carolina Marin of Spain in the last eight stage. Marin defeated 15th seed Sayaka Sato of Japan 21-7, 21-13 in the third round.

Saina took her time to settle down and Intanon gave her a tough time in the early stages of the opening game. Intanon was leading 8-5 at one point, but Saina took six consecutive points to take the lead.

The Indian continued to dominate after the break to take the first game by a comfortable margin.

The second game was a tighter affair with both players fighting neck and neck till the very end. But with the scores tied at 19-19, Saina took two back to back points to clinch the issue.

 

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Noida (PTI): A 25-year-old man was allegedly shot dead by his neighbour following a dispute over burning of drain waste in Greater Noida's Sakipur village, police said on Wednesday.

The main accused was arrested after an encounter, they added.

The incident took place late Tuesday night when the victim, identified as Sajan Bhati, was attacked near his house. The accused allegedly opened fire on him, causing critical injuries. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors declared him dead.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central Noida) Shailendra Kumar Singh said, "The accused, Mangesh (31), killed Bhati in the intervening night of Tuesday-Wednesday, following a dispute over the burning of drain waste in front of the victim's house. A police complaint was received at Surajpur Police Station regarding the murder."

He said police teams were formed to nab the accused, and during checking near the Moser Baer roundabout, the suspect was intercepted.

"When police tried to stop him, he opened fire. In self-defence, the police retaliated, in which the accused sustained injuries and was apprehended," the officer said.

Police recovered a country-made pistol, two live cartridges and a car from his possession, he added.

According to the police, the two accused were travelling in the car at the time of the encounter, and one of them managed to escape. Efforts are underway to arrest the absconding accused.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at Surajpur Police Station in Gautam Buddh Nagar, and further investigation is in progress, the police said.