Saina, Prannoy win at all-England championship
6 March 2015 1:51 AM GMT
Seasoned Indian ace Saina Nehwal and the fast-rising H S Prannoy notched up contrasting wins in the women’s and men’s singles competition, respectively, to reach the all-England Championships’ second round at Barclaycard Arena on Thursday.
Olympic bronze medallist, Saina, seeded third, hardly broke a sweat before getting past Indonesia’s Bellaetrix Manuputty 21-8, 21-12 while Prannoy eked out a hard-fought 16-21, 21-8, 21-18 win over France’s Brice Leverdez in the opening round last night. World No. 3 Saina will next take on Korean qualifier Kim Hyo Min, while Prannoy faces England’s Rajiv Ouseph in the second round. There was heartbreak for World No. 5 K Srikanth and Ajay Jayaram as they failed to cross the first hurdle and crashed out of the competition.
While fourth seed Srikanth lost to Kento Momota of Japan 18-21, 21-12, 15-21 in an hour and six minutes match, Jayaram too fell by the wayside after more than an hour long match against China’s Tian Houwei 14-21, 21-19, 14-21.
Meanwhile, Indian women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa crashed out as they suffered straight-game defeat at the hands of top seeded Chinese duo of Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in the second round.Gutta and Ponnappa lost 10-21 13-21 to their formidable Chinese opponents in a 36-minute second round contest. The Indians were simply outplayed by the Chinese who never allowed their opponents to make a fightback.
Olympic bronze medallist, Saina, seeded third, hardly broke a sweat before getting past Indonesia’s Bellaetrix Manuputty 21-8, 21-12 while Prannoy eked out a hard-fought 16-21, 21-8, 21-18 win over France’s Brice Leverdez in the opening round last night. World No. 3 Saina will next take on Korean qualifier Kim Hyo Min, while Prannoy faces England’s Rajiv Ouseph in the second round. There was heartbreak for World No. 5 K Srikanth and Ajay Jayaram as they failed to cross the first hurdle and crashed out of the competition.
While fourth seed Srikanth lost to Kento Momota of Japan 18-21, 21-12, 15-21 in an hour and six minutes match, Jayaram too fell by the wayside after more than an hour long match against China’s Tian Houwei 14-21, 21-19, 14-21.
Meanwhile, Indian women’s doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa crashed out as they suffered straight-game defeat at the hands of top seeded Chinese duo of Tian Qing and Zhao Yunlei in the second round.Gutta and Ponnappa lost 10-21 13-21 to their formidable Chinese opponents in a 36-minute second round contest. The Indians were simply outplayed by the Chinese who never allowed their opponents to make a fightback.
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