Badminton Asia Championships: Parupalli Kashyap beats Derek Wong to advance to the second round

Parupalli Kashyap started his Asia Championships campaign with a fine win over Derek Wong

Parupalli Kashyap got the better of Singapore’s Derek Wong 21-17, 21-13 in the first round of the Badminton Asia Championships. It was a nervy start for both players as they found their footing in the match.

The Indian led 4-3 in the opening game, before Wong won five points in a row from 6-7 down to lead 11-7 at the interval. Kashyap fought back with excellent returns of serve to go ahead 14-12. The Indian No. 2 mixed aggression with deft net play to run away with the first game 21-17.

Kashyap rocketed to 9-1 lead in the second game with brilliant forehands to unsettle the Singaporean. Wong did stage a fightback to even things at 11-11, but a lot of unforced errors in the back end of the second game cost him the match.

This is Kashyap’s fifth victory against Wong.