Japan Open 2019: Sai Praneeth, Ponappa-Rankireddy through to round two, Attri-Reddy crash out

Sai Praneeth, Ponappa-Rankireddy register wins. Manu Attri-Sumanth Reddy crash out in round one of the Japan Open.

Updated : Jul 23, 2019 11:52 IST , Tokyo

Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy
Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy
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Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy

Hello and welcome to the LIVE coverage of the BWF Japan Open 2019. I am Lavanya and I'll be taking you through the proceedings from Tokyo this morning.
 

LIVE:
 

And that ends action for the Indian contingent in Tokyo today. Join us again for round two. Until then, it's goodbye.

SECOND SET TO Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin take the second set and the game. 21-16.
It's the end of the road for Attri and Reddy and that losing streak continues. The Malaysians go through with a strong performance to round two.

FIRST SET TO Sze Fei Goh and Nur Izzuddin.
21-12. That was a cakewalk for the Malaysian duo.

Both teams are coming off two consecutive losses, Attri and Reddy in fact have just won one of their last five games, with the last four being losses. A win today will raise their spirits.

Up next in a few minutes, the men's doubles featuring Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy.
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SECOND SET TO PONNAPPA-RANKIREDDY ANG GAME! 
The Indians win 21-14, 21-19. Both the doubles pair and Praneeth have cruised through to round two of the BWF Japan Open.

Close contest here between India and Germany. 20-19 as it stands. A strong surge from Efler-Seidel can unsettle the Indian duo.

Absolutely stunning comeback from Efler and Seidel. Consecutive and aggressive drop shots there from the duo in red. Ponnappa tries to fend them off and return and succeeds twice but looks like thrice is not the charm here. Beaten.

FIRST SET TO PONNAPPA-RANKIREDDY:
The Indian pair get the better of the Germans in the first set. The scoreline reads 21-14. Decisive, that.

09:35 Meanwhile, even game here, each team matching the other, point for point. 11-11 now, in the first set.

There's something very relaxing about seeing the courtside staff sweep the court between games on a hectic Tuesday morning. Thank you, sport, for the little luxuries.

I have to say this. Ponnappa's pink shoes are quite the eye catchers.

Over to the second game of interest this morning. Time for some mixed doubles action now. Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy take on Germany's Linda Efler and Marvin Seidel.

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SECOND SET TO SAI PRANEETH AND GAME.
Sai Praneeth wins his campaign opener against Kento Nishimoto 21-17, 21-13.

09:00
- Lovely comeback there from Nishimoto. He seeks to do one better. Leads Praneeth 6-0 in the second set.

FIRST SET TO SAI PRANEETH. The Indian shuttler leads the match, taking the first set 21-17. It's been a confident show so far with Praneeth bringing Nishimoto to the ground more than once during the last few serves. Time for set two. Can Praneeth wind up the match here?
 

08:50 - Even contest now, with Praneeth and Nishimoto matching each other's tactics. 15-15.

Proceedings have begun. Follow for updates through the Praneeth vs Nishimoto tie.


Sai Praneeth had pulled out of the last edition of this tournament and its refreshing to see him come in confidently this time around. Nishimoto last faced Praneeth's compatriot, Kidambi Srikanth in the recently concluded Indonesia Open and lost that tie beat Nishimoto 21-14, 21-13 in 38 minutes.

Praneeth himself didn't have as great a run in the Indonesia Open, losing to Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki Vincent 15-21, 21-13, 10-21.

Nishimoto is ranked 10th in the BWF standings while Sai Praneeth finds himself in 23rd place.

Heading into the tournament, all eyes are on PV Sindhu. After a hard-fought Indonesia Open final where the badminton ace lost to Akane Yamaguchi, the Japan Open is expected to be her shot at redemption. Today isn't about her though. We have three games with Indian players in the fray and we begin with Sai Praneeth B taking on local lad Kenta Nishimoto.

There is a lot riding on this tournament and we'll get to that in just a minute. Kenta and Sai Praneeth are out, warming up in the meanwhile.

It's 8.35am here in India and we're up for some great badminton action today. We have three games with Indian prospects at Tokyo today starting with Sai Praneeth beginning his campaign against Japan's Kenta Nishimoto in the men's singles category. It might be hard to catch live streaming options on a working day so we're here to help you catch up with all the action from Tokyo. Follow the blog for game-by-game updates and statistics.

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