Indians had a good day in the first round of Hong Kong Super Series badminton tournament. While PV Sindhu got a relatively easy win, Saina had to fight really hard to clinch her first win. (Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu reach round 2 of Hong Kong Open)
Here is a brief summary of round 1:
Women’s’ Singles:
Saina Nehwal:
It was her second tournament after a 3 month long injury lay-off. She is seeded 5th in this tournament and was up against the emerging star of Thailand, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk. She lost the first set to the World Number 12, but came back strongly to win back to back sets and proceed to the next round. The scoreline read 12-21, 21-19, 21-17 and the match lasted an hour.
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PV Sindhu:
PV Sindhu, on the other hand is in the form of her life. After clinching the China Open super series, she had an easy outing in the first round. Her 21-13 21-16 win over Susanto Yulia Yosephin of Indonesia lasted just 32 minutes.
A good showing by PV Sindhu in Hong Kong Open could get her a Dubai Super Series final entry. Without it, she is currently out of contention for the $1,000,000 event. Also, an interesting tie is on the cards, if both Saina and PV Sindhu meet in the quarters. This clash could determine who will play the Dubai Open. Saina is currently at 8th position, which Sindhu is a little behind at 14th.
Men’s’ Singles:
H S Prannoy: Swiss Open winner H S Prannoy defeated China’s Qiao Bin 21-16 21-18
Sameer Verma: Verma edged past Japan’s Takuma Ueda 22-20 21-18 after another close contest
Ajay Jayaram: He had a tough fight against Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia. However, Jayaram managed to win the match 21-15, 13-21, 21-16 to advance to the next round.
B Sai Praneet: He was pitted against the third seed Jan O Jorgensen of Denmark. While he lost 18-21 18-21, he definitely gave the Dane a few shivers.
Men’s’ Doubles:
Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy: The pair lost to the Korean combo of Solgyu Choi and KO Sung Hyun with a score of 15-21, 8-21.
