World Championship medallists P.V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal crashed out of the $325,000 Japan Open Super Series after suffering straight-game defeats in second round on Thursday. However, K. Srikanth and H.S. Prannoy advanced to the quarterfinals in the men’s singles event.
Playing local favourite and World champion Nozomi Okuhara for a third consecutive time, Sindhu could not bring to the fore her best game and committed too many errors to go down 21-18, 21-8 in a lop-sided 47-minute contest.
Saina let go a 14-10 lead in the opening game and a 6-4 advantage in the second to go down 21-16, 21-13 to Olympic champion Carolina Marin of Spain.
However, World No. 8 Srikanthdemolished Hong Kong’s Hu Yun 21-12, 21-11 in 29 minutes to make it to the final eight.
US Open champion Prannoy, who managed to upstage Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Jen Hao 21-16, 23-21, will next play second seed Chinese Shi Yuqi. Shi staved off a challenge from Sameer Verma to win 10-21, 21-17, 21-15.
Among others, the mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki N. Reddy got the better of Japan’s Yuki Kaneko & Koharu Yonemoto 21-13, 21-17 but Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy played their heart out before losing 29-27, 16-21, 21-12 to Indonesia’s Praveen Jordan and Debby Susanto.
The results:
Men: K. Srikanth bt Hu Yun (HK) 21-12, 21-11; H.S. Prannoy bt Hsu Jen Hao (Tpe) 21-16, 23-21; Shi Yuqi (Chn) bt Sameer Verma 10-21, 21-17, 21-15.
Women: Nozomi Okuhara (Jpn) bt P.V. Sindhu 21-18, 21-8; Carolina Marin (Esp) bt Saina Nehwal 21-16, 21-13.
Mixed doubles: Pranaav Jerry Chopra & Sikki N. Reddy bt Yuki Kaneko & Koharu Yonemoto (Jpn) 21-13, 21-17.
Praveen Jordan & Debby Susanto (Ina) bt Ashwini Ponnappa & Satwiksairaj Rankireddy 29-27, 16-21, 21-12.
