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2017 Singapore Open Superseries champion B Sai Praneeth started the 2018 season on a winning note as he booked his place in the second round of the Perodua Malaysia Masters 2018 in Bukit Jalil, Malaysia on Wednesday. The World No. 16 needed 44 minutes to dismiss the challenge of the 58th ranked Kantaphon Wangcharoen of Thailand, 21-13, 21-13.
Sai has a tough proposition up next as he faces the top seed and World No. 1 Viktor Axelsen for a quarter-final berth. The Pullela Gopichand protégé lost to the world champion on Sunday when the two locked horns in the final of the Premier Badminton League (PBL) 2018.
The Indian national women’s doubles champions N Sikki Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa too had it easy in their first round. The two made short work of the German combine of Johanna Goliszewski and Lara Kaepplein, 21-15, 21-12.
In the second round, they will take on the formidable third seeded Danish duo of Kamilla Rytter Juhl and Christinna Pedersen.
India also has another representative in the mixed doubles section. Prajakta Sawant, who has teamed up with Yogendran Krishnan, will meet the second seeds Tang Chun Man and Tse Ying Suet.
Disastrous day for China; upsets galore
Day 2 of the Malaysia Masters proved to be a disastrous day for the Chinese contingent as they lost two of their superstars. While the reigning Olympic champion Chen Long succumbed to a 17-21, 15-21 defeat at the hands of the 13th ranked Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, the two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan bowed out with a 16-21, 21-18, 17-21 loss to World No. 47 Ihsan Maulana Mustofa.
This was the first time that both the stars fell to two Indonesians at a BWF tournament.
And China was not the only country to suffer as most of the elite shuttlers continued to struggle in the first big tournament of the season. The BWF World Tour Super 500 event also saw the exit of the second seed and home hero Lee Chong Wei, who was beaten 21-19, 18-21, 19-21 by Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto.
Fourth seed Son Wan Ho and sixth seed Chou Tien Chen also joined the exodus. The Korean lost 15-21, 13-21 to qualifier Daren Liew while Indonesia’s Jonathan Christie stopped Chen with a 21-11, 24-22 win.
