Sindhu, Saina, Srikanth advance in Japan Open
TOKYO: Olympic medallists PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal, K Srikanth, HS Prannoy and the mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponappa advanced to the second round of Japan Open Superseries here on Wednesday.
Sindhu battled past Japanese Minatsu Mitani 12-21, 21-15, 21-17 in an hour and three minutes to set-up a second-round clash against world champion Nozo mi Okuhara of Japan on Thursday.
Sindhu and Okuhara share four wins apiece in career meetings and have recently developed an enthralling rivalry. While Okuhara got the better of Sindhu at the World Championships final in August in Glasgow, the Hyderabadi hit back at the Korea Open last weekend.
Another intriguing duel on Thursday will be between London Olympic bronze medallist Saina and 2016 Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain. Saina leads head-to-head record against the Spaniard by 4-3.
Saina on Wednesday moved past Thai Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-17, 21-9 in 40 minutes, while two-time world champion Marin breezed past Chinese Chen Xiaoxin 21-11, 21-11.
Eighth-seed Srikanth fought off China’s Tian Houwei 21-15, 12-21, 21-11 in an hour and four minutes. After this win, Srikanth, India’s best bet in men’s singles, will take on Chinese Hu Yun.
Prannoy got the better of Denmark’s Anders Antonsen 21-12, 21-14 in 37 minutes. He will face Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Jen Hao for a place in the quarter-finals.
Sameer Verma also moved into the second round as he registered a 21-12, 21-19 victory over Thailand’s Khosit Phetpradab. Sameer will meet Shi Yuqi of Japan on Thursday.
B Sai Praneeth and Sourabh Verma, however, had to face defeat. While Sourabh lost to five-time world champion Lin Dan of China 21-11, 15-21, 13-21, Praneeth went down 23-21, 17-21, 14-21 to Lee Dong Keun.
Satwik-Ashwini pair staved off Thailand’s Tinn Isriyanet and Pacharapun Chochuwong with a 21-17, 21-13 victory. The unseeded Indians will face a huge task of defeating Indonesian fourth seeds Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto.