ALL ENGLAND: PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal move to Round 2

Birmingham, March 16

Ace Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal began their All England Championships campaign with easy straight-game wins over their respective opponents in the women’s singles here today.

Sixth seed Sindhu beat Zhi Yi Wang of China 21-18 21-13 in her first round match that lasted 42 minutes, while Saina defeated Beatriz Corrales of Spain 21-17 21-19 in 38 minutes.

The world No. 7 Sindhu will meet the winner of the match between Sayaka Takahashi of Japan and Supanida Katethong of Thailand in the second round.

Saina, who had reached the final here in 2015, will face either second seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan or Kristin Kuuba of Estonia in the second round. If Sindhu and Saina win their respective second-round matches, they will face each other in the quarterfinals.

In the men’s singles, B Sai Praneeth lost to top seed Viktor Axelsen 20-22 11-21 in the first round. HS Prannoy went down to last week’s German Open winner Kunlavut Vitidsarn 15-21 22-24 in 56 minutes.

In the men’s doubles, fifth-seeded Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat Scottish pair Alexander Dunn and Adam Hall 21-17 21-19 in 38 minutes. —