Badminton World Championships 2018, Women's Singles Round 2: Saina Nehwal vs Aliye Demirbag, Live Match Updates

Nehwal def Demirbag 21-17, 21-8 to enter R3.

Updated: 31 July 2018 12:46 IST - Published: 31 July 2018 10:50 IST

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And that brings us to the end of our live coverage of this match

Saina didn't look convincing in the first game. But, as the match progressed, she began to find her rhythm, which was evident in the second game.

She would hope to replicate the form she showed in the second game against Ratchanok in the next round.

Nehwal will now face former world champion Ratchanok Intanon in a blockbuster third round clash between two big stars! Oh, what a clash that would be!

She gets the second round win in 34 minutes.

And Saina converts on her first match point.

She wins 21-17, 21-8.

12 match points for Nehwal!

Yet another shot lands out from Denirbag's racquet.

Saina goes up to 19-7

Big smash from the forecourt by Saina!

16-7

Saina is definitely looking much better in this game. Has totally stamped her authority here.

It's just a matter of time before she closes this out.

Leads 13-7

It's 12-5 in favour of Saina post-interval.

Saina is up 11-4 going into the midgame interval.

Demirbag rallies hard but Saina gets it with a delicate drop.

Saina 10-4

Points are coming from Saina through some deceptive play.

She leads 8-3

Saina is attacking the net with precision now.

Up 6-3

A lot more attacking intent from Saina early on in this game.

She leads 5-2

Second game

Just like the first game, Nehwal builds a 2-1 lead.

Saina converts it on her second game point.

She gets the first game 21-17

A long rally ends in a down the line smash from Saina!

Game points galore for her!

20-16

It continues to be a two-point gap between bthe two.

Saina up 18-16

A crosscourt smash from Saina that goes out!

Demirbag again closes the gap to two points.

14-16

Saina built a four-point gap but Demirbag lets out a roar as she finds her aggressive strokes.

Demirbag now trails by 2 points at 13-15

A few loose errors from the Turk after the break.

Saina races ahead to 14-10

Demirbag led the game until 10-9 after which Saina showed her experience.

Saina goes into the interval with an 11-10 lead.

It seems that Saina is still not playing at her best.

Taking time to settle into this game.

Demirbag still has the upper hand

Leads 9-8

She is moving Saina all over the court now.

With a sharp deflection of the shuttle, that lands deep in the corner, she goes up to 8-6

Some good placements over the net from the Turk.

Now the Turkish girl has a lead of 6-5

But Demirbag is fighting back here and now trails Saina by just 1 point.

4-5

Saina manages to maintain the 2-point gap as she leads 4-2

And the early proceedings are in Saina's favour, as expected.

She leads 3-1

And we are under way!

Saina builds a 2-1 lead

Saina will start the proceedings in a few seconds.

Good afternoon! The players are on court now and are warming up.

Hello and Welcome to Sportskeeeda's LIVE coverage of the Badminton World Championships 2018. Next up in Women's singles is: Saina Nehwal vs Aliye Demirbag

After Kidambi Srikanth eased his way into Round 2 earlier today, it is now the turn of 10th seed Saina Nehwal to prove her mettle in her first encounter at the BWF World Championships 2018.

The Jabalpur-born shuttler had received a Bye in Round 1 whereas her Turkish counterpart Aliye got a walkover against Sabrina Jaquet.

Saina, who is currently ranked 10th in the World with lock horns with Aliye Demirbag, who is ranked way below at 72. This should be more of a warm-up game for the ace Indian shuttler and Aliye does not pose much of a threat.

However, a stern test awaits Saina in Round 3 as the winner of this match will face Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon. The 4th seed has a decent record against Saina and she would certainly be wary of this as Ratchanok is in top notch form.

Saina comes into this event on the back of an early exit at the Indonesia Open. She will certainly be looking to make a mark at the big stage.