Indonesia Open 2022 | PV Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth ousted in opening round
Indian shuttlers were off to a poor start as PV Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth were ousted from the first rounds of the Indonesia Open, on Tuesday. Sindhu lost to world no.9 He Bing Jiao, while Praneeth lost to Denmark's 36-year-old player Hans Kristian Solberg Vittinghus in straight games.
It was an ordinary performance by Sindhu, as she lost in straight games to the Chinese girl 21-14, 21-18 in a match that lasted 47 minutes. The loss comes after the Indian made a quarter's exit in the Indonesia Masters last week. Throughout the match, Bing Jiao maintained a healthy lead over the Tokyo bronze medalist and never let her settle.
In the second game, it was a much closer affair, but there too Sindhu could not get the points at crucial moments and faltered in the first round itself. In fact, the Chinese girl claimed 42 of the 74 points played as she managed to win points on the trot in the match. Meanwhile, it was heartbreak for Sai Praneeth once again, as he lost his first-round match against Dane Vittinghus 21-16, 21-19. The match lasted a little over 40 minutes.
Praneeth, who has been struggling for form and fitness, was no match to a player seven years elder than him. Apart from that, the mixed doubles pair of Tanisha Crasto and Ishaan Bhatnagar had a poor outing as well, as they lost their first-round match against Hong Kong's Chang Tak Ching and NG Wing Yung. They lost 12-21,11-21 in just over half an hour.