Loh Kean Yew is looking for singles gold after already winning mixed team bronze with Singapore ©Getty Images

Reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew cruised through to the men's badminton singles round of 16 at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The Singaporean beat South Africa's Robert Summers in straight games, 21-9, 21-9, here at the National Exhibition Centre in the British city.

Loh, who won the singles title at Huelva 2021, is looking to clinch his maiden title at the multi-sport event.

It has been a mixed bag for him so far after losing to Lakshya Sen during his nation's 3-0 defeat to India in the mixed team semi-finals.

He then helped Malaysia win bronze in the event with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over England's Toby Penty.

The 25-year-old's appearance makes him the first reigning men's singles world champion to compete in a Commonwealth Games competition.

Loh is due to face Alexandre Jean Bernard Bongout of Mauritius in the next round tomorrow.

In the women's singles, 2019 world champion PV Sindhu of India was the main event as the world number seven went up against Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq in the round of 32.

The Maldivian was clearly out of her depth from the off.

Callum Hemming, left, and Jessica Pugh advanced in the mixed doubles tournament after a feisty second round affair ©Getty Images
Callum Hemming, left, and Jessica Pugh advanced in the mixed doubles tournament after a feisty second round affair ©Getty Images

Sindhu, who was one of the flag bearers at the Opening Ceremony, blitzed her opponent 21-4 in the first game after just six minutes in a seemingly effortless performance.

Abdul came back in the second and had the crowd behind her as she put Sindhu through her paces but was still on the receiving end of a 21-11 loss to go down in straight games.

The liveliest match of the day came in the mixed doubles.

The host nation's Callum Hemming and Jessica Pugh played higher-ranked B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa of India in front of a partisan crowd.

Hemming and Pugh eventually prevailed in straight games 21-18, 21-16 but the score line does not reflect how closely-fought each point was.

Both sides were repeatedly warned by the umpires for celebrating towards the opponents.

It was clearly a draining yet important victory for Pugh and Hemming who fell to their knees once the win was assured.

They attributed the win to the ardent support.

"In our sport it is very rare for us to play in front of a home crowd, so we really appreciated you guys today," Pugh said after the match.