Kidambi Srikanth and Saina Nehwal win their opening matches in India Open

Kidambi Srikanth in action against Tanongsak Saensombbonsuk of Thailand

Srikanth all the way

Kidambi Srikanth began his India Open campaign in style beating Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensombbonsuk 21-17, 21-16 at the Siri Fort Sports complex.

It was Saensombbonsuk who got off to a great start by leading 2-0 in the early goings of the first game. Srikanth won his first point courtesy an easy forehand putaway near the net. Before long, the Indian led 7-4 with as he upped the ante on his opponent with aggressive badminton. Srikanth led 11-8 in the interval. The No. 2 seed relied on his smashes to unsettle the Thai player. Things looked tight at 16-15 for the Indian, but he was calm under pressure to close out the first game 21-17.

The second game saw Saensombbonsuk attack Srikanth’s backhand a lot more. The Indian No. 1 was ready with answers including a brilliant backhand from behind him. Srikanth again showed lot of courage to win crucial points in the middle of the second game. He eventually won the game and with it the match after Saensombbonsuk netted a forehand.

Easy win for Saina Nehwal

Saina Nehwal had an easy outing against Riya Mukherjee

Saina Nehwal beat her compatriot Riya Mukherjee 21-5 , 21-13 . Riya won the first point of the match when Saina netted her backhand. It was 3-3 in the first minute of the opening game before Saina won 11 straight points with calculated badminton that included powerful smashes coupled with deft volleys. Riya won a point with a superb smash off Saina’s serve. However, Saina was too good for her young opponent as she wrapped up the first game 21-5 with a forehand drop shot.

The second game began on a good note for the No. 1 seed with Riya continuing to make errors on both forehand and backhand wings. Saina kept up the pressure throughout and brought up match point with a forehand smash. She won the match with a superbly placed forehand smash that landed in front of the net.