BAC: Sindhu, Prannoy, Doubles pair ousted, India’s campaign ends
This was Sindhu’s first loss against the Chinese shuttler in six meetings.
Indian male shuttler Parupalli Kashyap was knocked out of the Fuzhou China Open in second round. on Thursday, after succumbing to defeat in straight games against Viktor Axelsen. Mixed-doubles duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponappa also bowed out from the second round.
The 43-minute long encounter between Kashyap and his Danish opponent ended in 13-21 and 19-21. Axelsen outclassed his Indian counterpart in every department to proceed to the third round.
Following the first-round exit from French Open last month, this is Kashyap’s second early exit from a BWF World Tour in 2019. He had lost to NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong 21-9, 21-12.
Advertisement
Ponappa and Rankireddy, on the other hand, lost to South Korean duo of Seo Seung Jae and Chae YuJung 23-21, 21-16 in a tie that lasted 40 minutes.
The Indian contingent have fared quite badly and with Thursday’s string of defeats the medal hope seems well and over.
Another mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N. Sikki Reddy were also knocked out after they lost their first-round match against Taiwan’s Wang Chi-Lin and Cheng Chi Ya 21-14, 21-14.
Star shuttlers PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal were both knocked out from their respective first-round matches.
Nehwal suffered huge embarrassment in her first-round match of Fuzhou China Open 2019. She lost the encounter against China’s Cai Yan Yan 21-9, 21-9 in just 24 minutes.
Nehwal has not won many major tournaments in recent times and has gradually come down in the BWF women’s singles ranking.
Sindhu, on the other hand, was crashed out from the first round after playing a hard-fought battle for 74 minutes. She lost 13-21, 21-18, 19-21 against Taiwan’s Pai Yu Po.
Earlier this year, Sindhu had become the first Indian badminton player to win the BWF World Championship. She defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7 in the final to attain the historic feat.
Advertisement
