Srikanth Kidambi vs Tian Houwei, Live Badminton score and updates, Japan Open Super Series 2017 Round 1

Srikanth moves into the second round where he will face either Hu Yun or Anthony Ginting tomorrow.

Thank you for tuning in! See you soon as we continue our coverage of today's action with Saina Nehwal's opener.

A 21-15 12-21 21-11 win for the Indian, which is just his second in eight attempts over Houwei.

And he converts on the third opportunity! Srikanth is through to the next round.

11 MATCH POINTS FOR SRIKANTH.

19-9!

18-9! Srikanth three points away from the second round.

17-8 now! Surely the matter is sealed now?

15-7! Six more points to go for the Indian.

13-7 now. Srikanth slowly but surely inching his way to match point.

We've reached the interval in the decider and Srikanth leads 11-6. Can he hold on?

8-5 as Srikanth maintains his lead.

The Chinese fights back to make it 6-4, but Srikanth adds another to his tally. 7-4!

6-1! Srikanth has opened up a quick gap early in the decider.

What a start for Srikanth! 4-0 lead in the third and final game so far.

In the rubber, Srikanth draws first blood. 2-0 lead!

Who will come out on top in the decider? Let's find out.

In the second game, it's Houwei's turn to garner eight game points. And he converts gleefully!

We're all square at one a piece! 21-15 12-21!

The Chinese shuttler is now three points away from the second game. 12-18!

It's 12-15 to Houwei now as we enter the business end of the game.

11-14 as Houwei continues to maintain his advantage.

After the interval, the Indian fights back to reduce the gap to 10-11.

At the break, it's Houwei who leads 8-11.

7-10 in favour of the Chinese shuttler now.

7-8 to Houwei now as he continues to serve.

All square once again! Srikanth responds with three points of his own as the score is now 6-6.

The Chinese shuttler wins the next three points to make it 3-6.

3-3! Both shuttlers trading quick blows.

In the second game, we're all square at 2-2 after the first four points.

FIRST GAME TO SRIKANTH! 21-15!

After Houwei saves three game points, Srikanth converts finally and takes the first one 21-15.

Eight game points for the Indian now! 20-12!

17-12 to Srikanth now! Just four points away from the first game!

Houwei is staying in touch as he has clawed his way to 14-12. Can Srikanth keep his advantage?

The gap had been reduced to 12-10 but Srikanth wins after a long rally to make it 13-10.

12-9 it is now, with the Chinese to serve.

Houwei has halved the deficit now, down to three points. 11-8!

At the break, Srikanth has a commanding 11-5 lead.

Srikanth maintains his lead and now has a five-point advantage. 10-5!

A blazing start by Srikanth as he wins the next three points! 7-2 now.

4-2 as the Chinese wins a point back but Srikanth responds with a point of his own.

3-1 in favour of the Indian now.

1-1 after the first two points.

Good morning!

The players are on court and warming up. This should be a cracker!

Also, you can recap Tuesday's action here, where 17-year-old Satwiksairaj Rankireddy stole the show.

You can read our detailed preview of India's chances at the Japan Open here.

Hello and welcome to Sportskeeda's coverage of the Japan Open Superseries 2017 as the main draw kicks off today on Wednesday and the biggest names in the sport get set to face off. In our first match of the day, we have Srikanth Kidambi taking on Tian Houwei in the opening round of the men's singles event and it promises to be a high-quality affair.

Srikanth, who will be playing his first tournament after his top-eight finish at the World Championships, will have to be his best if he has to get past Houwei, who has caused a lot of trouble to the Indian in the past. Srikanth is seeded eighth in the draw and Houwei is 10th, and it is the Chinese who enjoys a massive lead in the duo's head-to-head record.

In the seven times they have met, Srikanth has come out on top only once, which was in 2016 at the Badminton Asia Team Championships. The remaining six have seen Houwei come up trumps but an important fact is that the last time they met was in March 2016 and since then, Srikanth has seen his game improve to a great extent.

He will have to be at his best from the very start and cannot afford even the slightest lapse in concentration, with his next opponent likely to be the recently-crowned Korea Open champion Anthony Ginting and after that, the reigning world champion Victor Axelsen is likely to stand in the way.

The match will begin at around 6.45 AM IST. Stay tuned to this space for the latest updates!