Kidambi Srikanth launches World Championships campaign on a rousing note; Sai Praneeth upset

Kidambi Srikanth launched his campaign on a winning note at the BWF World Championships in Huelva, Spain on Sunday. Twelfth seed Kidambi Srikanth dismissed Pablo Abian of Spain 21-12, 21-16 in the men's singles first round.

World No. 14 Srikanth dominated the match against the local star and needed 36 minutes to enter the second round. Srikanth got off to a flying start against the World No. 53 Pablo Abian and raced to a 11-2 lead thanks to an eight-point burst at the start. The former World No. 1 Srikanth maintained his healthy lead to wrap up the opening game 21-12.

Srikanth continued his brilliant momentum in the second game to seal the fate of the veteran Spanish star. Although Abian managed to save four match points, Srikanth was always in control of the situation to complete a 21-16 victory in the second game.

Second successive win for Srikanth over Pablo Abian

It was the second straight win for Srikanth over Pablo Abian. In their first meeting at the BWF World Championships in 2018, Srikanth edged past Abian 21-15, 12-21, 21-14. The 36-year-old Abian failed to put up a decent fight on Sunday and perished quickly.

Srikanth will now take on China’s Li Shi Feng in the second round on Tuesday. It is the first time Srikanth will face 21-year-old Li Shi Feng, ranked 63 in the world. Shi Feng thrashed Timothy Lam of the USA 21-6, 21-10 in the first round on Sunday.

Second straight defeat for Sai Praneeth against Mark Caljouw of The Netherlands

Fourteenth seed B Sai Praneeth was upset by unseeded Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands, 21-17, 7-21, 18-21. The marathon first round match lasted for an hour and 8 minutes.

World No. 16 Sai Praneeth started off well but failed to maintain tempo against World No. 28 Mark Caljouw.

In their only previous outing, Sai Praneeth had lost 14-21, 14-21 against Mark Caljouw at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games (Group D) in July.

Both doubles pairs disappointed on first day

Both doubles pairs in action on the opening day suffered defeats and crashed out of the competition.

Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy lost to lower-ranked opponents Denmark's Joel Eipe and Rasmus Kjaer in their maiden encounter on the circuit. World No. 39 Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy were outclassed by their young Danish rivals 16-21, 15-21 in 32 minutes. Joel and Rasmus, ranked 55 in the world, capitalized on the lack of match practice of Manu and Sumeeth.

Pooja Dandu and Sanjana Santosh went down to Alyssa Tirtosentono and Imke Van Der Aar of the Netherlands in the women's doubles first round. The Indian duo Pooja and Sanjana, ranked 55 in the world, were retired after losing the first game 12-21 in 19 minutes. World No. 46 Dutch pairs proved too strong for Indian duo Pooja and Sanjana.

Indian Results (Round 1)

Men’s singles

12-Kidambi Srikanth bt Pablo Abian (Spain) 21-12, 21-16 (36 minutes)

14-B Sai Praneeth lost to Mark Caljouw (Netherlands) 21-17, 7-21, 18-21 (68 minutes)

Men’s doubles

Manu Attri-B Sumeeth Reddy lost to Joel Eipe-Rasmus Kjaer (Denmark) 16-21, 15-21 (32 minutes)

Women’s doubles

Pooja Dandu-Sanjana Santosh lost to Alyssa Tirtosentono-Imke Van Der Aar (Netherlands) 12-21 (Retired) (19 minutes).

Indian players in action on Monday (Round 1)

Men’s singles

HS Prannoy vs 8-Ng Ka Long Angus (Hong Kong China)

Men’s doubles

Arun George-Sanyam Shukla vs Ou Xuan Yi-Zhang Nan (China)

MR Arjun-Dhruv Kapila vs Daniel Lundgaard-Mathias Thyrri (Denmark)

Mixed doubles

Venkat Gaurav Prasad-Juhi Dewangan vs Mathias Thyrri-Mai Surrow (Denmark)

Utkarsh Arora-Karishma Wadkar vs Patrick Scheiel-Franziska Volkmann (Germany).