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After four consecutive losses to Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy finally got the better of his compatriot whilst PV Sindhu cruised into the second round of the Japan Open in Tokyo on Wednesday.
With four out of their five meetings having gone the distance, a blockbuster was always on the cards and the two made sure that the motley crowd at Musashino Forest Sports Plaza were left spellbound with yet another three-game thriller. The eighth-seeded Srikanth made the better start out of the two, riding on his relentless attack to take the first game.
However, his training partner rebounded strongly in the second game. Even though Srikanth did save a couple of match points in the decider, his efforts fell short in the end with the Kerala shuttler going on to complete a 13-21, 21-11, 22-20 win -- his first victory over Srikanth in an international tournament since 2011.
In women's singles, there was no stopping PV Sindhu who continued her impeccable form from last week's Indonesia Open. Three days after losing the final to Akane Yamaguchi, the fifth seed was at her best once again as she brushed aside World No. 12 Han Yue 21-9, 21-17 in 37 minutes.
Sameer Verma had it tough against the in-form Anders Antonsen. The World No. 9, runner-up at the Indonesia Open, was very sharp against the Syed Modi International winner and notched up a 21-17, 21-12 win.
In men's doubles, India's top pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty knocked out the Rio Olympic bronze medallists Chris Langridge and Marcus Ellis 21-16, 21-17 to progress into the second round. This was their second straight win over the English pair after upsetting them at the World Championships last year.
None of the other Indian teams were successful on Day 2 of this Super 750 tournament. Sikki Reddy endured a double whammy, suffering losses in both women's doubles and mixed doubles.
In mixed doubles, she and Pranaav Jerry Chopra were stopped by the top seeded Chinese combine of Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong 11-21, 14-21 while in women's doubles, she and Ashwini Ponnappa lost 16-21, 14-21 to unseeded Koreans Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong.
