China Masters: Prannoy advances to second round; Srikanth exits
HS Prannoy progressed to the second round of the China Masters with a hard-fought 19-21, 21-14, 21-18 win over Joo Ven Soong. He is now the only remaining Indian in the men's draw, after Kidambi Srikanth faced another disappointing first round exit, this time at the hands of Lin Yu Hsien.
HS Prannoy faced Joo Ven Soong of Malaysia and despite the disparity in rankings, it turned out to be a closely fought encounter. Soong raced to a 19-10 lead in the first game, but Prannoy went on to win eight points in a row to make it 19-18. The Malaysian shuttler, however, closed the game at 21-19 to take an early lead. That proved to be a
Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth's poor run of form continued, as he faced another first round exit. The World No. 13 faced Lin Yu Hsien, who is ranked 118 in the world, and it turned out to be a one-sided affair. Srikanth lost the match 12-21, 17-21 in a tie which lasted just 32 minutes.
In men's doubles, Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar progressed to the next round with a comfortable 21-18, 21-13 win over Singapore's Yong Kai Terry Hee and Kean Hean Loh on Wednesday. They will now face the Chinese pair of Wang
With Saina Nehwal withdrawing from the tournament, PV Sindhu is India's only hope in the women's draw of the China Masters With Saina Nehwal withdrawing from the tournament, PV Sindhu is India's only hope in the women's draw of the China Open this year, and she will take on Natsuki Nidaira in her opening game later today.
