Japan Open: Srikanth, Prannoy progress; Praneeth bows out

Srikanth will next lock horns with Hu Yun of Hong Kong for a place in the quarterfinals.

Published : Sep 20, 2017 11:39 IST , Chennai

Kidambi Srikanth beat Chinese oppponent Tian Houwei 21-15, 12-21, 21-11 to enter the second round of men’s singles at the Japan Open.
Kidambi Srikanth beat Chinese oppponent Tian Houwei 21-15, 12-21, 21-11 to enter the second round of men’s singles at the Japan Open.
lightbox-info

Kidambi Srikanth beat Chinese oppponent Tian Houwei 21-15, 12-21, 21-11 to enter the second round of men’s singles at the Japan Open.

Kidambi Srikanth beat Chinese oppponent Tian Houwei 21-15, 12-21, 21-11 to enter the second round of men’s singles at the Japan Open Superseries in Tokyo on Wednesday.

Srikanth, who had won titles at Indonesia and Australia, dished out a superlative performance to overcome Houwei to improve his 1-6 record against the World No. 10.

The eighth seeded Indian, who had reached the finals at Singapore Open, will face Hong Kong’s Hu Yun next. The World No. 8 Indian has a 2-2 head-to-head count against Yun, having lost twice in 2015.

US Open Grand Prix Gold Champion H. S. Prannoy and Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold winner Sameer Verma also advanced to the second round with straight-game wins over their respective opponents in men’s singles here.

While Prannoy got the better off Denmark’s Anders Antonsen 21-12, 21-14, Sameer took 40 minutes to subdue Thailand’s Khosit Phetpradab 21-12, 21-19 in another match.

Prannoy will now take on the winner of the match between Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Jen Hao and Hong Kong’s Ng Ka Long Angus, seeded sixth.

Sameer, on the other hand, will square off against either France’s Brice Leverdez or second seed Chinese Shi Yuqi in the next round.

Sameer’s elder brother, Sourabh, however, bowed out of the tournament after his fight against seventh seed and two-time Olympic gold medallist Lin Dan of China ended with a 21-11, 15-21, 13-21 loss.

Pranneth exits

Singapore Open champion B. Sai Praneeth also found the going tough as he went down fighting to Lee Dong Keun of Korea 23-21, 17-21, 14-21 in a thrilling contest.

Fast-rising doubles player Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also advanced to the mixed doubles second round alongwith experienced Ashwini Ponnappa after defeating Thai pair of Tinn Isriyanet and Pacharapun Chochuwong 21-17, 21-13.

However, Satwik and his men’s doubles partner Chirag Shetty couldn’t get across third seeds Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo of Indonesia, going down 25-27, 15-21 in another pulsating contest.

Experienced men’s doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy also crashed out after losing 18-21, 15-21 to eighth seeds Lee Jhe-Huei and Lee Yang of Chinese Taipei, while third seeded Korean Chang Ye Na and Lee So Hee ended Ashwini and N. Sikki Reddy’s stay with a 21-17, 21-12 win in women’s doubles event.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment