Sindhu sails, Saina stretched in Round 1 of Hong Kong Open
Ace women shuttlers progress; disappointment in men’s section as only Prannoy survives
Yuet Yee 21-18, 21-10 in only 26 minutes. This was World No.2 Sindhu’s first match against the Hong Kong girl.
The three-time World Championships medallist will next face Japan’s Aya Ohori against whom she has an unbeaten 2-0 record.
Sindhu is gunning for her third Superseries title of 2017 after winning in India and South Korea.
A short while earlier, Saina also eased into the second round of women’s singles with a straight games victory over Denmark’s Mette Poulsen.
The World No.11 won 21-19, 23-21 in 46 minutes in her first clash against the Dane. Saina, who won the National Badminton Championships earlier this month, will next face Chinese eighth seed Chen Yufei in the second round.
The World No.9 has been in brilliant form this year and also clinched the bronze at Glasgow World Championships in August and will be facing Saina for the first time.
Prannoy also made it to the second round of men’s singles but not before he was given a tough fight by veteran Hu Yun.
But the new Indian national champion stuck his neck out and won the contest 19-21, 21-17, 21-15 in an hour and one minute.
The World No.10 Prannoy will take on qualifier Kazumasa Sakai, who has a 2-0 lead over the Kerala shuttler.
Kashyap and Verma also fought hard in their openers but their campaign came to a crashing end.
South Korean Lee Dong Keun beat reigning Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap 15-21, 21-9, 22-20 in an hour and nine minutes while Indonesian veteran Tommy Sugiarto beat Verma 21-15, 21-8 in half an hour.
South Korean World No.3 Son Wan-ho earned a straight games victory over Sai Praneeth. The second seed won 21-8, 21-16 in 35 minutes.