Indian shuttlers got off to a thunderous start at the $120, 000 Skycity New Zealand Open as four doubles pairs made it to the second round of this Grand Prix Gold event at North Shore Events Centre in Auckland on Wednesday.
Ashwini Ponnappa and Manu Attri, who qualified for the mixed doubles main draw, overcame a tough challenge from the Australian duo of Robin Middleton and Leanne Choo, 21-13, 10-21, 21-12. The match lasted 40 minutes.
They have an uphill task next as they face the second-seeded Korean combine of Shin Baek Cheol and Chae Yoo Jung.
Attri had double delight later on in the day as he teamed up with B Sumeeth Reddy for a three-game win in men’s doubles first round. The sixth seeds beat Chinese Taipei’s Shang Kai Lin and Lu Ching Yao, 21-11, 17-21, 21-16 in 49 minutes.
The World No. 19 pairing will next take on the unseeded Philippine duo of Ronel Estanislao and Paul Jefferson Vivas.
Pranaav Jerry Chopra too had double glory on Wednesday as he claimed wins in both the men’s doubles and the mixed doubles sections. In men’s doubles, the Syed Modi International runners-up Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar made short work of local hope Joshua Curry and Maoni Hu He 21-11, 21-7 to set up a clash with seventh seeds Chen Hung Ling and Chi-Lin Wang from Chinese Taipei.
In mixed doubles, Chopra and N Sikki Reddy prevailed over Aussies Jonathan Sun and Jennifer Tam with consummate ease, 21-8, 21-9. The match finished in just 20 minutes. In the second round, they will square off against the Japanese qualifier duo of Takuto Inoue and Naru Shinoya.
India’s top women’s doubles team of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa too will be in action on Thursday. The fourth seeds got a bye in the first round and will begin their campaign against the winner of the first round match between Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara and Maria Masinipeni/Jasmin Chung Man Ng.
