Sindhu advances, Srikanth crashes out of Japan Open

Tokyo: Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu kicked off her Japan Open campaign on an emphatic note as she registered a comprehensive victory over China's Yue Han in her first-round clash of the $750,000 tournament.

The Olympic silver medallist needed just 37 minutes to defeat Han 21-9, 21-17 in her opening match on Wednesday. Fifth-seeded Sindhu will now face Japan's Aya Ohori — whom she had recently defeated in the Indonesia Open — in the second round. However, there was disappointment for Kidambi Srikanth as he bowed out of the men's singles event after suffering a stunning defeat to compatriot H.S. Prannoy in his first-round match. Prannoy defeated Srikanth 13-21, 21-11, 22-20 in a match that lasted for an hour.

Unseeded Sameer Verma also crashed out of the tournament after suffering a 21-17, 21-12 defeat to Denmark's Anders Antonsen in his match.

In men's double event, the Indian duo of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressed to the next round after defeating Britain's Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge 21-16, 21-17 in 43 minutes.

In women's doubles, Ashwini Ponappa and Reddy N Sikki lost 16-21, 14-21 to South Korea's kong Hee Yong and Kim So Yeong to make exit. On Thursday, B Sai Praneeth, who shocked Japan's Kento Nishimoto in the opening round, will compete with Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan while Prannoy will lock horns with Rasmus Gemke of Denmark.