New Delhi: London Olympics bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal stormed into the women’s singles quarterfinals of the Malaysia Masters badminton tournament with a clinical straight-game win over South Korea’s An Se Young at Kuala Lumpur on Thursday.

The unseeded Indian, who had won the Indonesia Masters last year before enduring a lean patch on the World Tour, overcame a stiff resistance from Young, beating her 25-23 21-12 after a thrilling 39-minute contest.

This is Saina’s first win over the South Korean, who got the better of the Indian in the quarterfinals of the French Open last year. The two-time Commonwealth Games champion will next take on Olympic champion Carolina Marin in the quarterfinals.

Saina had defeated Lianne Tan of Belgium 21-15 21-17 in the opening round on Wednesday.