Indian shuttlers off to good start in Vietnam Open

Indian shuttlers Abhishek Yelegar and Lakshya Sen reached the second round of Vietnam Open Grand Prix after notching up contrasting wins in men’s singles competitions on Tuesday.

The 16-year-old Lakshya, who won the Bulgarian Open last month, brushed aside Singapore’s Chuang Jin Lei 21-9, 21-4, while 15th seed Abhishek eked out a hard fought 21-15, 14-21, 21-11 win over Thailand’s Adulrach Namkul in a 50-minute match at the Nguyen Du Indoor Stadium.

Rahul Yadav Chittaboina, who had won the Mauritius International last year, defeated Indonesia’s Nathaniel Ernestan Sulistyo 21-11, 21-9.

Lakshya, who had reached the finals of Senior Nationals Championship, will next take on compatriot Abhishek. However, it was curtains for Siril Verma and C Rohit Yadav in men’s singles event.

While Siril lost 11-21, 19-21 to Yu Igarashi of Japan, Lu Chia Hung of Chinese Taipei ended the campaign of Rohit with a 21-7, 21-14 win in another match.

In other men’s singles matches, NVS Vijethadefeated Uzbekistan’s Artyom Savatyugin 16-21, 21-18, 21-9 while Pratul Joshi got the better of Indonesia’s Firman Abdul Kholik 23-21, 21-17 in straight games. Kartikey Gulshan Kumar also qualified for the next round, beating Brunei’s Darussalem YU Jaspar Woon Chai 21-6, 21-11.