Japan Open | PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth advance to Round 2

Japan Open | PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth advance to Round 2

SportsCafe Desk

By SportsCafe Desk, SportsCafe Editor

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Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth won their respective singles matches on Tuesday to advance to the second round in the ongoing Japan Open Badminton Championships. In the mixed doubles category, Pranaav Chopra and Sikki Reddy also advanced to the second round.

Sindhu defeated Japanese shuttler Sayaka Takahashi 21-17, 7-21, 21-13 to qualify for the next round. Sindhu started off slow in the first game and the Japanese was ahead at the break with a lead of 11-6. However, she came back strongerĀ at theĀ very end and from the scoreline of 16-9, gathered seven consecutive points to make it 16-16 before winning it 21-17.

The win was followed by an uncomfortable second game. She was trailing 11-3 at the break and this time, failed to make a comeback like the previousĀ one with the Japanese levelingĀ things. The Asian Games silver-medalist, however, was seen at her best in the third game as she dominated from the very beginning. She didn't allow the Japanese to settle down in the entire final game going into a break with a huge lead of 11-4. Sindhu never looked back in the last half and went on to win the match 21-13. She will meet Gao Fang Jie from China in Round 2.

In men's singles event, Prannoy defeated Indonesia's Jonatan Christie 21-18, 21-17 to get a berth in the second round. Although he had a lead of 11-9 at the break in the first game, Prannoy stumbled towards the end and the Indonesian took the lead before eventually conceding the gameĀ 21-18. In the second game, Prannoy was at his best as he managed to put pressure on his opponent right from the start. He had a seven-point lead at the break and won the second game comfortably by 21-17 by keeping the leadĀ intact throughout the second game. He will face Anthony Sinisuka GintingĀ of Indonesia in the next round.

Srikanth also made a winning start byĀ winning comfortably against Chinese shuttler Huang Yuxiang 21-13, 21-15. It was a slow start for the Indian as well that saw him trailing 8-11 at the break in the first game. The Guntur shuttler, however, made it 11-11 after the break and dominated the entire game to win the first. The second game was equally competitive and the Chinese again had the lead at the break. The 25-year-old Indian had to make a stunning comebackĀ this time too, and yet again, he and ran away with the game and the match to qualify for the second round of the Japan Open. The Indian shuttler will meet Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent in the second round of the championships.

The Indian mixed doubles pair of Chopra and Reddy defeated USA's Mathew Fogarty and Isabel Zhong 21-9, 21-6 and advanced to the next round of the championships. The other mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponappa lost to the Chinese pair of Wang Yilyu and Huang Donging by 10-21, 19-21 points in straight games.

Vaishnavi Reddy lost 10-21, 8-21 to Gao Fangjie of China in women's singles while Sameer Verma lost 18-21, 22-20, 10-21 to Lee Dong Keun of Korea and failed to make it to the next round.

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