A fit-again Saina Nehwal had to dig deep into her reserves to get past Tzu Ying Tai of Chinese Taipei in a gruelling first round match at the Korean Super Series in Seoul on Wednesday.
The world number four Indian, who missed on-court action for more than a month due to a ligament injury in her right knee, eked out a 19-21, 21-14, 22-20 victory over Tzu Ying in the women's singles match following a 50-minute hard-fought battle.
The first game ended on a disappointing note for Saina as Tzu broke away from 18-18 to pocket the game.
In the second game, Saina didn't give her opponent any chance and opened up a 5-1 lead and held her fort to roar back into the contest.
In the decider, both the shuttlers were locked in a fierce battle but it was Saina who had the last laugh as she erased a 8-13 deficit to clinch the game and the match.
Among other Indians, Jwala Gutta and V Diju beat England pair of Nathan Robertson and Jenny Wallwork 21-19, 21-18 in a 33-minute battle in the mixed doubles category.
Jwala then combined with Ashwini Ponnappa to record a come-from-behind win against Hong Kong's Tsz Ka Chan and Hoi Wah Chau in the women doubles competition.
The Indian pair won 18-21, 22-20, 22-20 after a 45-minute battle.
In the men's singles match, P Kashyap eased into the second round with a 21-17, 21-9 win over Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk to set up a tough clash with third seed Peter Hoeg Gade of Denmark. Peter beat Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka of Indonesia 21-17, 21-10.