SRIKANTH, PRANNOY IN QFS, SINDHU, SAINA CRASH OUT
New Delhi, Sept. 21: Olympics medallists P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal exited the $325,000 Japan Open Super Series badminton tournament with straight-games defeats in the second round in Tokyo on Thursday.
However, Kidambi Srikanth and H.S. Prannoy advanced to the quarterfinals of the men’s singles.
Playing local favourite and world champion Nozomi Okuhara for the third consecutive time, Sindhu could not bring out her best game and committed too many errors to go down 18-21, 8-21 in a lopsided 47-minute contest.
The match lacked the long intense rallies that had marked their last two contests — the 110-minute World Championship final and last week’s 83-minute Korea Open summit clash, which Sindhu won.
Sindhu squandered leads of 11-9 and 18-16 in the opening game and looked completely out of sorts in the second to bow out.
London Games bronze medallist Saina too squandered a 14-10 lead in the opening game and a 6-4 advantage in the second to go down 16-21, 13-21 to Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain, seeded fifth.
However, world no. 8 Srikanth, who clinched back-to-back titles in Indonesia and Australia this year, demolished Hong Kong’s Hu Yun 21-12, 21-11 within half an hour to make it to the final eight.
He now face recentlycrowned world champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
US Open champion Prannoy upstaged Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Jen Hao 21-16, 23-21. He will now play against second seed Chinese Shi Yuqi.
World no. 2 Shi, who had reached the final of the All England Championship earlier this year, staved off the challenge of Sameer Verma 10-21, 21-17, 21-15 in another match.