Indian shuttlers B. Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma lived up to their billing and registered straight-game victories to progress to the quarterfinals of the men’s singles event at the Australian Open here on Thursday.
Second seed Praneeth beat Indonesia’s Panji Ahmad Maulana 21-12, 21-14, while fourth-seeded Sameer edged past Takuma Ueda of Japan 21-16, 21-12 in their second round matches.
Praneeth will next play seventh seed Lee Cheuk Yiu of Indonesia, while Sameer will be up against China’s Lu Guangzu. It turned out to be a good day for Indians in the men’s doubles too as third seeds Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy defeated the Korean combination of Hyuk Gyun Choi and Kyung Hoon Park 21-17, 21-17 to make it to the quarterfinals.
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Seventh seeds M.R. Arjun and Ramchandran Shlok also booked their place in the last eight round but were made to work hard for the win.
They were stretched by the Japanese pair of Hiroki Okamura and Masayuki Onodera before winning 21-15, 25-23. The two Indian pairs will take on each other next. India’s campaign in women’s singles ended after China’s Han Yue thrashed J. Vaishnavi Reddy 21-5, 21-5.
In women’s doubles too, it was end of the road for India after J. Meghana and Poorvisha S. Ram crashed out, losing 21-11, 21-13 to Japan’s Miki Kashihara and Miyuki Kato. The mixed doubles duo of Shivam Sharma and Poorvisha S. Ram also bowed out after a 21-6, 21-13 defeat to Korea’s of Seung Jae Seo and Chae Yujung.
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The results (second round): Men: B. Sai Praneeth bt Panji Ahmad Maulana (Ina) 21-12, 21-14; Sameer Verma bt Takuma Ueda (Jpn) 21-16, 21-12. Doubles: Manu Attri & B. Sumeeth Reddy bt Hyuk Gyun Choi & Kyung Hoon Park (Kor) 21-17, 21-17; M.R. Arjun & Ramchandran Shlok bt Hiroki Okamura & Masayuki Onodera (Jpn) 21-15, 25-23.
Women: Han Yue (Chn) bt J. Vaishnavi Reddy 21-5, 21-5. Doubles: Miki Kashihara & Miyuki Kato (Jpn) bt J. Meghana & Poorvisha S. Ram 21-11, 21-13.
Mixed doubles: Seung Jae Seo & Chae Yujung (Kor) bt Shivam Sharma & Poorvisha S. Ram 21-6, 21-13 .