Sindhu, Prannoy win in France; Jayaram ousted
PARIS: Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy advanced to the second round with straight-game wins but it was curtains for Ajay Jayaram in the USD 300,000 French Open Super Series badminton tournament here on Wednesday.
In a 45-minute gruelling contest, Sindhu, who had suffered a loss in second round in Denmark Open last week, dished out a gritty performance to prevail 21-9 29-27 over Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin in a women’s singles match.
The two-time World Championship bronze medallist Indian will next take on the winner of the match between China’s He Bingjiao and Denmark’s Mette Poulsen.
Swiss Open champion Prannoy also disposed off Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana 21-16 21-18 in a 41-minute clash to set up against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen, seeded fifth.
However, it turned out to a disappointing day for Jayaram, who squandered a first game advantage to go down fighting 22-20 10-21 18-21 to Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia in another men’s singles match.
SAINA GEARS UP
FOR CHINA SERIES BANGALORE: India’s ace shuttler Saina Nehwal said she is ready for the China Open Super Series to be held from November 15-20 and the Hong Kong Open Super Series from November 22-27.
“I’m really happy that I am coming back to the court after two-and-a-half months. I have given my entry for the China Open and the Hong Kong Open. Let us see with the kind of improvement over the next three weeks how my results are if I can play in China and Honk Kong,” said Saina.
Saina, who sustained an intraarticular injury (inside the joint) to her right knee which affected her progress in the badminton event at the Rio Olympic 2016, was undergoing treatment at a Hyderabad hospital.
MIXED DAY FOR GM HARIKA IN FRANCE
CAP D’AGDE, FRANCE: Grand Master Harika Dronavalli won a complex game against Spain’s Sabrina Vega Gutierrez and played a draw against local favourite Matthieu Cornette on day five of the 14th Anatoly Karpov rapid international chess tournament here on Wednesday. In her earlier battles with the same players, the Guntur player had beaten Vega Gutierrez and could only manage a draw against Cornette.
She has played 10 games so far and has kept herself in contention by picking up crucial points.