B. Sai Praneeth rallied to end the career of former Olympic and world champion Taufik Hidayat in the Indonesian Super Series Premier badminton tournament here on Wednesday.
Sai Praneeth, after losing the opening game 21-15, took the next two 21-12, 21-17 to script a memorable win in 52 minutes.
Ajay Jayaram, R.M.V. Gurusaidutt and Sourabh Varma also entered the pre-quarterfinals but world No. 10 P. Kashyap crashed out of the men’s singles competition.
The 26-year-old Kashyap was outclassed by former world No. 6 Sho Sasaki of Japan 21-7, 21-8 in his campaign opener, which lasted just over 30 minutes.
While Ajay struggled past Riyanto Subagja of Indonesia 22-20, 8-21, 21-12 in 49 minutes, Gurusaidutt got the better off another local player Andre Kurniawan Tedjono 22-20, 21-16. Sourabh Varma overcame Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Vittinghus 19-21, 21-14, 21-15.
In women’s doubles, the Indian pair of Aparna Balan and N. Sikki Reddy lost 21-12, 21-17 to the local pair of Gebby Ristiyani Imawan and Tiara Rosalia Nuraidah in the first round. Later, Pragnya Gadre and Ashwini Ponnappa got past Singapore’s Fu Mingtian and Yao Lei 21-16, 15-21, 22-20.
Indian results:
Men: Singles: First round: B. Sai Praneeth bt Taufik Hidayat (Ina) 15-21, 21-12, 21-17; Sourabh Varma bt Hans-Kristian Vittinghus (Den) 19-21, 21-14, 21-15; Sho Sasaki (Jpn) bt P. Kashyap 21-7, 21-8; Ajay Jayaram bt Riyanto Subagja (Ina) 22-20, 8-21, 21-12; R.M.V. Gurusaidutt bt Andre Kurniawan Tedjono (Ina) 22-20, 21-16.
Women: Doubles: First round: Gebby Ristiyani Imawan & Tiara Rosalia Nuraidah (Ina) bt Aparna Balan & N. Sikki Reddy 21-12, 21-17; Pragnya Gadre & Ashwini Ponnappa bt Fu Mingtian & Yao Lei (Sin) 21-16, 15-21, 22-20.
