Fuzhou (China): Defending champion PV Sindhu sailed into the quarterfinals but Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy crashed out of the China Open Super Series Premier badminton tournament, here Thursday.
World No.2 Sindhu emerged as the lone Indian survivor at the event after she made quick work of China’s Han Yue 21-15, 21-13 in a lop-sided 40-minute women’s singles match. She will next face Friday another Chinese qualifier Gao Fangjie.
It however, turned out to be a dismal day for both Saina and Prannoy. While Saina lost 18-21, 11-21 against her Japanese nemesis and fifth seed Akane Yamaguchi in the second round, World No.11 Prannoy was stunned by 53rd ranked Cheuk Yiu Lee of Hong Kong 19-21, 17-21 in men’s singles.
For Saina, the match against Yamaguchi was always expected to be a tricky one considering her 1-3 head-to-head record against the Japanese. Saina, thus, suffered her fourth defeat – three of them in the last one month – against Yamaguchi this year.
Saina, who won the title here in 2014, got off to a good start, taking a slender 11-9 lead but Yamaguchi fought back to pocket the first game 21-18.
Down by a game, Saina’s game started to deteriorate. She lacked momentum in the second game and never looked in the mental frame to make a comeback, even as Yamaguchi comfortably closed out the match in 37 minutes.
Later in the day, Prannoy tried his best, but lost his second round clash in just 42 minutes. In the first game, leads changed hands frequently with Lee leading 11-9 at the break. After the break, Prannoy tried hard to shift the momentum but never really managed to achieve that as Lee took the first game 21-19.
In the second game, it was Prannoy who led 11-10 at the interval. But then exhaustion seemed to have affected him and he committed a few unforced errors to lose the game and the match.
At a glance
PV Sindhu bt Han Yue 21-15, 21-13
Saina Nehwal lost to Akane Yamaguchi 18-21, 11-21
HS Prannoy lost to Cheuk Yiu Lee 19-21, 17-21
Press trust of India
