Rio de Janeiro: Ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal beat local hope Vicente Lohaynny 21-17, 21-17 in her opening Group C match in the women singles event here on Thursday.

Saina got a tough competition from the Brazilian shuttler. Lohaynny being 5-9 down, fought back levelling the game at 10-10. Saina just edged past the mid-game interval with a one point lead.

The 20-year-old local hope then fought neck-to-neck with the former world No.1. At 17-17 level, the Indian took four points on the trot and clinched the first game 21-17 in a well-battled 20 minutes.

In the early minutes of the second game, Saina started to build her dominance in the court taking a 11-5 lead to the mid-game interval.

In the later half of the second game, the Brazlian tried to fight back, but Saina continued to dominate and taking three points on the trot, secure herself with seven match points before she took the second game 21-17 in 19 minutes.

Saina will be playing her next match on Sunday against Maria Ulitina of Ukraine.