PRANNOY SHOCKED, SAINA WINS

LUCKNOW: Second seed HS Prannoy was upstaged in straight games by lowerranked Indonesian Chico Aura Dwi Wardoya at the Syed Modi International Badminton on Wednesday.

Arguably the best current Indian shuttler after K Srikanth, the world No 23 was out of sorts throughout the 33-minute battle against a rival ranked world No 99, losing 14-21, 7-21.

Seventh seed Sourabh Verma was also knocked out, losing 21-17, 15-21, 15-21 to China’s Zhou Zeqi in 66-minute battle. Zhou will face India’s Harsheel Dani, who got the better of Ajay Jayaram 13-21, 21-13, 21-9.

Former champion Parupalli Kashyap showed glimpses of his old touch as the 32-year-old outplayed Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand 21-14, 21-12. The 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, who had been struggling with injuries for the past two years, was in control throughout the 34-minute game. He next plays Indonesia’s Firman Abdul Kholik.

Second seed Saina Nehwal launched her campaign in style brushing aside Mauritius’s Kate Foo Kune 21-10, 21-10 in 30 minutes.

The tie witnessed the biggest crowd of the day. London Olympics bronze medallist Saina will next face qualifier and local girl Amolika Singh Sisodiya, who got the better of compatriot Anura Prabhudesai 21-18, 12-21, 21-18 on the adjacent court.

Saina kept Kate on her toes with perfect net drops and placements to the corners. She conceded at least 15 of the 20 points due to unforced errors.

Former Chinese Olympic champion Li Xuerui, eighth seed Rituparna Das and all other seeds in women’s singles also advanced.

Top seeds and defending champions Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy lost to Chinese Ren Xiangyu and Zhou Chaomin in straight games -- 14-21, 11-21.