Reigning world champion P. V. Sindhu sailed into the pre-quarterfinals with a convincing win over former Olympic gold-medallist Li Xuerui but Saina Nehwal crashed out of the China Open Super 1000 tournament here on Wednesday.
In the men’s section, Sai Praneeth and Parupalli Kashyap also progressed to the second round after notching up contrasting opening-round wins.
Ashwini Ponnappa and N. Sikki Reddy too found a place in the pre-quarterfinals after crossing the opening hurdle.
Replicating her World championship form, Sindhu produced another strong performance to get the better of the currently 20th-ranked Chinese 21-18, 21-12 in just 34 minutes.
Saina lost 21-10, 21-17 at the hands of Busanan Ongbamrungphan in 44 minutes.
Tough going
In men’s singles, Praneeth had to battle for an 72 minutes to get past Thailand’s Suppanyu Avihingsanon 21-19, 21-23, 21-14, while Kashyap beat France’s Brice Leverdez 21-12, 21-15.
In women’s doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and N. Sikki Reddy too crossed the opening hurdle after their opponents Chinese Taipei’s Cheng Chi Ya and Lee Chih Chen retired while lagging 21-13, 11-8.
The men’s pair of Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy crashed out after losing 21-15, 21-15 to Indonesian second seeds Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.
The results(first round) :
Singles : Men : B. Sai Praneeth bt Suppanyu Avihingsanon (Tha) 21-19, 21-23, 21-14; P. Kashyap bt Brice Leverdez (Fra) 21-12, 21-15.
Doubles: Mohammad Ahsan & Hendra Setiawan (Ina) bt Manu Attri & B. Sumeeth Reddy 21-15, 21-15.
Women : P.V. Sindhu bt Li Xuerui 21-18, 21-12; Busanan Ongbamrungphan bt Saina Nehwal 21-10, 21-17. Doubles: Ashwini Ponnappa & N. Sikki Reddy bt Cheng Chi Ya & Lee Chih Chen (Tpe) 21-13, 11-8.
Mixed doubles : Mark Lamsfuss & Isabel Herttrich (Ger) bt Pranaav Jerry Chopra & N. Sikki Reddy 21-12, 23-21 .
