India had a largely successful first day at the Japan Open, where it had only two defeats, which were Satwik Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa losing their mixed doubles match and Sameer Verma going down to D. K. Lee. Thank you for joining us!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3:55 pm: D. K. Lee wins the third game 21-10 to take the match. He beats Sameer Verma 21-18 20-22 21-10.
3:43 pm: D. K. Lee holds a healthy eight-point lead (11-3) over Sameer Verma at the midway point in the third game.
3:30 pm: Sameer Verma takes the second game 22-20 to force a decider against DK Lee.
3:16 pm: Sameer Verma currently holds a healthy five-point lead in the second game, which stands 13-8 in favour of the Indian.
3:02 pm: Sameer Verma has lost the first game 18-21 to D. K. Lee.
2:57 pm: Kidambi Srikanth coasts home to a 21-13 21-15 victory over Y. Huang.
2:47 pm: Kidambi Srikanth won the first game 21-13 against Y. Huang and has taken the lead in the second game. He leads 13-12.
2:23 pm: Sindhu wins the final game 21-13 to take the match 21-17 7-21 21-13. H. S. Prannoy has also won, beating Jonatan Christie 21-18 21-17.
2.11 pm: The Indians are doing well. Sindhu leads 11-4 in the third game while Prannoy leads 13-7 in the second game.
2.08 pm: Sindhu leads 6-2 in the third game.
2.02 pm: Takahashi wins the second game 21-7. The match is now 1-1. Sindhu needs to get her best game out now.
2.01 pm: Takahashi is proving to be strong for Sindhu now. The Japanese leads 19-7 in the second game.
1.58 pm: Prannoy wins the first game 21-18 against Jonathan Christie.
1.55 pm: Sindhu falls back in the second game. Takahashi leads 9-3.
1.50pm: Prannoy now trails in the first 12-14 against Jonatan Christie.
1.48 pm: Sindhu wins the first game 21-17. This is an absolute thriller from the Indian.
1.47 pm: Sindhu wins 11 points in a row to make it 19-16. Top class stuff from the Indian.
1.46 pm: Make it nine points in a row. Sindhu leads 17-16.
1.44 pm: This is the Sindhu we know. Aggressive and sharp. The Indian takes 7 points on the trot and moves within touching distance. 15-16 now. This is going great guns!
1.39 pm: The gap between Sindhu and Takahashi widening. 14-7 in favour of the Japanese now.
1.36 pm: Sindhu seems to be losing steam here. She trails Takahashi 6-10 in the first game.
1.35 pm: In the men's singles, we have H.S. Prannoy taking on Jonatan Christie.
1.33 pm: Takahashi takes the early lead, leads Sindhu 5-3.
1.25 pm: It is time for P.V. Sindhu. With Saina Nehwal skipping this event, Sindhu is India's main hope. The Hyderabadi girl will meet Japan's Sayaka Takahashi.
12.51 pm: A horrid start for India. After Vaishnavi lost her singles match, Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy lose 0-2 (10-21, 19-21) to China's Yilyu Wang and Dongping Huang.
12.50 pm: The Indians aren't leaving it. They are hanging in at 19-20.
12.40 pm: There isn't much to cheer as Ashwini and Satwiksairaj are trailing 9-10 in the second game.
12.33 pm: A huge 10-point difference between India and China in the first game. And the Chinese wrap it up in no time. Ashwini and Satwiksairaj go down in a jiffy at 10-21 to Wang and Huang.
12.28 pm: The Indian pair of Ashwini and Satwiksairaj are down 9-12 in the first game.
12.20 pm: We have some mixed doubles action now. India's Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj are facing China's Yilyu Wang and Dongping Huang.
12.10 pm: Viktor Axelsen follows Marin into the next round. He beats Taipei's Jen Hao Hsu 21-12, 21-9.
12.08 pm: Carolina Marin storms into the second round. She beats Japan's Saena Kawakami 2-0 (21-7, 21-12).
11.58 am: Lin Dan brings up his A-game and wins the third game 21-10. He wins the match 2-1 (16-21, 21-19, 21-10) against Kantaphon Wangcharoen.
11.50 am: Easy pickings for Axelsen and Marin. Axelsen wins the first game 21-12 while Marin wins 21-7.
11.30 am: We have Viktor Axelsen and Carolina Marin on the courts for their matches respectively. Marin is playing Saena Kawakami while Axelsen is Jen Hao Hsu.
11.26 am: Lin Dan doesn't give up so easily. He is working hard, getting all his tricks out of the bag and wins the second game 21-19 against Wangcharoen. The match is 1-1 now.
11.00 am: Lin Dan has lost the first game 16-21 to Wangcharoen.
10.50 am: Meanwhile, former World No. 1 Lin Dan is on court and he is facing Thailand's Kantaphon Wangcharoen.
10.40 am: It has just taken just under 30 minutes, 29 to be precise, for Fangjie Gao to beat India's Vaishnavi Reddy. While Vaishnavi best part was winning three points in a row in the first game, Gao won 11 at a stretch to stamp her authority.
10.38 am: And that's it. Vaishnavi Reddy loses her opening game. Fangjie Gao beats the Indian 2-0 (21-10, 21-8). The match is over in a matter of minutes. There will be plenty of takeaways for Vaishnavi from this match.
10.37 am: It is 18-7 for Gao as she stamps her authority on the match.
10.35 am: Vaishnavi attempts to crawl back in this game. She trails 6-15 and has a mountain to climb now. This match is slipping away from her hands.
10.33 am: Well, it is not looking good for India now. Gao is running away with this match. She leads 11-3 in the second game even before Vaishnavi could come up with a plan-B.
10.27 am: Meanwhile, Tai Tzu Ying has won her first round game. Easy pickings for the World No.1. She beats Malaysia's Soniia Cheah 2-0 (21-18, 21-18).
10.26 am: Gao just storms ahead. Vaishnavi seems to have no answers to Gao's fury as she loses the first game. Gao leads 1-0 (21-10).
10.22 am: A five-point difference now for Gao as she takes a 15-10 lead. The Indian seems to be crumbling under pressure.
10.18 am: Fangjie Gao surges into a 10-8 lead in the first game.
10.15 am: This is the first time the players are meeting each other.
10.10 am: India's Vaishnavi Reddy has begun her campaign. The Indian leads 4-3 in the first game.
9.45 am: The favourites in Naomi Okuhara and Akane Yamaguchi are through after easy first-round wins. Yamaguchi beat Pai Yu of Taipei 21-18, 21-12 while Okuhara won after her opponent Cheung Ngan retired at 13-21, 12-13.
This is the schedule for the day.
Women’s Singles
9.45 am: Vaishnavi Reddy Jakka vs Fangjie Gao
12.00 pm: P.V. Sindhu vs Sayaka Takahashi
Men’s Singles
1.30 pm: HS Prannoy vs Jonatan Christie
2.15 pm: Kidambi Srikanth vs Yuxiang Huang
2.15 pm: Sameer Verma vs Dong Keun Lee
Mixed Doubles
12:00 pm: S Rankireddy-Ashwini Ponnappa vs Y Wang-D Huang
2.15pm: Pranaav Jerry Chopra-N. Sikki Reddy vs Mathew Fogarty- Isabel Zhong
Comments
SHARE