Srikanth and Sameer win, Sourabh ousted

Gwangju (S Korea), November 20 

India made a promising start at the Korea Masters badminton tournament with Kidambi Srikanth and Sameer Verma advancing to the second round of the men's singles competition here today.

Sixth seed Srikanth defeated Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent 21-18 21-17 in match that lasted 37 minutes. Srikanth now enjoys a 11-3 head-to-head record against Wong. He will face Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in the second round. 

Sameer Verma also reached the second round after his opponent Japan's Kazumasa Sakai retired midway with the score reading 11-8 in favour of the Indian. However, it was the end of the road for Sourabh Verma, who lost to local favourite Kim Donghun 21-13 12-21 13-21. 

Gopichand shields Sindhu

Kolkata: India's chief badminton coach Pullela Gopichand today attributed PV Sindhu's lean run since her World Championship triumph to hectic scheduling.

Sindhu has fallen in the early stages at all tournaments except the French Open since winning her maiden World Championship title in August.  "Sindhu has had tough times in the last few matches, but I am sure she'll bounce back. I think she's had a tough schedule after the World Championships.

Gopichand also said India's Tokyo 2020 preparation is on the right track. — PTI