Srikanth, Praneeth, Prannoy enter Rd 2

Lucknow, November 27

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Top Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth, B Sai Praneeth and HS Prannoy advanced to the second round of the men’s singles event in the Syed Modi International badminton tournament here today.

Third seed Srikanth beat Russia’s Vladimir Malkov 21-12 21-11 to set up a second-round clash with compatriot Parupalli Kashyap, who got a walkover from Frenchman Lucas Corvee.

Fourth seed Sai Praneeth defeated Malaysia’s Iskandar Zulkarnain 21-16 22-20. Unseeded Prannoy got the better of China’s Li Shi Feng 18-21 22-20 21-13.

Lakshya Sen, who recently won the Scottish Open, also got a walkover after another French shuttler, Thomas Rouxel, withdrew from the competition. Sourabh Verma and Ajay Jayram also entered the second round. Verma eased past Canada’s Xiaodong Sheng 21-11 21-16, while Jayram stunned fifth seed compatriot Sameer Verma 15-21 21-18 21-13. Siril Verma too made the men’s singles second round.

In the women’s competition, young Assamese shuttler Ashmita Chaliha advanced to the second round. Rituparna Das and Tanvi Lad also made it to the next round where they will face each other.

Olympics champion Carolina Marin of Spain, seeded fourth, defeated Bulgaria’s Linda Zetchiri 21-16 21-11.

Satwik-Chirag lose

However, it was curtains for second seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty as they lost 12-21 21-23 to China’s Di Zi Jian and Wang Chang.

In women’s doubles, eighth seeds Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy entered the second round after beating Hong Kong’s NG Tsz Yau and Yuen Sin Ying 21-13 16-21 21-19. — PTI