Saina, Sindhu win but Srikanth falls

Wuhan (China): Top Indian shuttlers P. V. Sindhu and Saina Nehwal notched up contrasting wins to enter the second round but Kidambi Srikanth suffered a shock defeat in the Asia Badminton Championship here Wednesday.

Olympic and world championship silver-medallist Sindhu eased past Takahashi Sayaka of Japan in straight games.

Sindhu looked in command from the beginning and registered a thumping 21-14, 21-7 victory in just 28 minutes. The fourth-seeded Indian will next face Choirunnisa of Indonesia.

World number nine Saina had to work hard to get the better of China’s Han Yue.

The seventh seeded Indian came back strongly to pull off a thrilling 12-21, 21-11, 21-17 win after conceding the first game. She will next meet Kim Ga Eun of South Korea.

In men’s singles, fifth seed Srikanth lost to Indonesia’s Shesar Hiren Rhustavito in 16-21, 20-22 in a match that lasted 44 minutes. This was the Indian Open finalist’s second meeting with Rhustavito.

The two had last met at the BWF World Junior Championships in 2011, where too the Indonesian had defeated Srikanth 11-21, 21-13, 21-16.

Sameer Verma notched up a hard-fought 21-13, 17-21, 21-18 victory over Sakai Kazumasa of Japan.

It was end of the road for the men’s doubles pair of M. R. Arjun and Ramchandran Shlok, who went down 18-21, 15-21 to the Chinese duo of He Jiting and Tan Qiang.

In the women’s doubles event India’s campaign came to end as all three pairs lost their matches.

Meghana Jakkampudi and Poorvisha S Ram lost 21-13, 21-16 to the Thai pair of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai followed by Pooja Dandu and Sanjana Santosh going down 21-13, 12-21, 21-12 to the Sri Lankan duo of Thilini Pramodika Hendahewa and Kavidi Sirimannage.

Aparna Balan-Sruthi K. were ousted after a 12-21, 10-21 loss in just 25 minutes to the unseeded Singaporean pairing of Jin Yujia and Sugiarto and Barkah Yulfira.