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PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen and Sourabh Verma started their French Open campaign on a perfect note in Paris, France on Wednesday.
Double Olympic medalists Sindhu, Lakshya and Sourabh registered straight-game victories in their respective matches on the second day of the BWF World Tour Super badminton tournament.
Third-seed Sindhu thumped Julie Dawall Jakobsen of Denmark 21-15, 21-18 in the women’s singles first round. World No. 7 Sindhu needed 35 minutes to oust 23-year-old Jakobsen in their first ever meeting on the international circuit.
Sindhu was tested by the youngster, ranked 39 in the world, but was always in control of the proceedings.
Sindhu will face Line Christophersen in the second round
26-year-old Sindhu will lock horns with Line Christophersen of Denmark in the second round on Thursday.
In their only meeting so far, Sindhu had beaten world No. 24 Line 21-8, 21-8 at the All England Open Badminton Championships earlier this year.
Line, 21, has been playing well this season and Sindhu can’t afford to relax against the tall Dane.
Sindhu remained the only Indian women’s singles player in the fray after Saina Nehwal retired while trailing against Sayaka Takahashi of Japan. Saina lost the first game 11-21 and was trailing 2-9 in the second game when she decided to throw in the towel.
Heart-breaking defeat for Kidambi Srikanth against Kento Momota
Kidambi Srikanth suffered a painful defeat against top seed and world No. 1 Kento Momota. It was close yet so far for Srikanth as he lost 18-21, 22-20, 19-21 in the men’s singles first round. Srikanth led 19-17 in the decider but failed to deliver a knock-out punch.
Parupalli Kashyap also went down fighting in three games against Brice Leverdez of France.
Another experienced Indian shuttler, HS Prannoy, also failed to clear the first round hurdle. Prannoy found fourth-seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei too hot to handle and bowed out in straight games.
Lakshya Sen overcame a late fightback from Nhat Nguyen of Ireland to enter the second round
In-form Lakshya notched up a fluent 21-10, 21-16 victory in 45 minutes against the Irish player. It was the second successive win for Lakshya over Nguyen, ranked 55 in the world. World No. 22 Lakshya will now lock horns with Singapore’s Loh Kean Yew in the second round.
A couple of weeks ago at the Dutch Open, Lakshya lost to Singaporean Loh Kean Yew 12-21, 16-21 in the final. Thursday’s battle will provide Lakshya a good chance to avenge October 17 defeat.
Sourabh Verma overcame a stiff challenge from Ygor Coelho of Brazil with a tense 22-20, 21-19 win in 43 minutes. Two-time former national champion Sourabh will face Kenta Nishimoto in the next round.
Twin wins for Satwiksairaj
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy recorded twin wins on Wednesday, winning his men's doubles and mixed doubles matches in contrasting styles.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa dismissed Mathias Thyrri and Mai Surrow of Denmark 21-19, 21-15 in the mixed doubles to start their day in a perfect manner.
However, later in the day, Satwik and Chirag had to work really hard to win their men's doubles match.
Fifth-seed Satwik and Chirag rallied back superbly to edge past Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan of Chinese Taipei in three games. The Indian pair needed 51 minutes to post a hard-fought 18-21, 21-17, 21-13 win.
In the next round, Satwik-Chirag will meet their young Indian compatriots MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, who beat Joshua Magee-Paul Reynolds of Ireland.
Indian Results (Round 1)
Men’s singles
Lakshya Sen bt Nhat Nguyen (Ireland) 21-10, 21-16 (45 minutes)
Sourabh Verma bt Ygor Coelho (Brazil) 22-20, 21-19 (43 minutes)
Kidambi Srikanth lost to 1-Kento Momota (Japan) 18-21, 22-20, 19-21 (79 minutes)
Parupalli Kashyap lost to Brice Leverdez (France) 17-21, 21-17, 11-21 (64 minutes)
HS Prannoy lost to 4-Chou Tien Chen (Chinese Taipei) 11-21, 14-21 (38 minutes)
Women’s singles
3-PV Sindhu bt Julie Dawall Jakobsen (Denmark) 21-15, 21-18 (35 minutes)
Saina Nehwal lost to Sayaka Takahashi (Japan) 11-21, 2-9 (Retired) (19 minutes)
Men’s doubles
5-Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Chirag Shetty bt Lee Jhe-Huei-Yang Po-Hsuan (Chinese Taipei) 18-21, 21-17, 21-13 (51 minutes)
MR Arjun-Dhruv Kapila bt Joshua Magee-Paul Reynolds (Ireland) 21-13, 21-7 (31 minutes)
Manu Attri-B Sumeeth Reddy lost to Ko Sung Hyun-Shin Baekcheol (Korea) 14-21, 16-21 (32 minutes)
Women’s doubles
Ashwini Ponnappa-N Sikki Reddy lost to 1-Lee Sohee-Shin Seungchan (Korea) 16-21, 17-21 (38 minutes)
Jakkampudi Meghana-Poorvisha S Ram lost to Alyssa Tirtosentono-Imke Van Der Aar (Netherlands) 4-11 (Retired) (6 minutes)
Mixed doubles
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa bt Mathias Thyrri-Mai Surrow (Denmark) 21-19, 21-15 (37 minutes).
