Swiss Open: Sindhu, Srikanth, Prannoy advance to second round

Indian badminton players PV Sindhu, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy advanced to the second round of Swiss Open 2023 but compatriot Lakshya Sen crashed out in the opening round of the tournament, here. Double Olympic medallist Sindhu, the reigning champion, defeated Switzerland’s Jenjira Stadelmann 21-9, 21-16 in a 32-minute affair on Wednesday night. She will play Indonesia’s Putri Kusuma Wardani next. On the other hand, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the next round with a hard-fought 21-16, 15-21, 21-18 win over China’s Weng Hong Yang and set up a second round clash against Cheuk Yiu Lee. In another men’s singles match, fifth-seeded HS Prannoy beat China’s Shi Yu Qi with a 21-17, 19-21, 21-17 win in a closely-fought tie which lasted for an hour. Another Indian player, Mithun Manjunath registered a 21-8, 21-17 win over Joran Kweekel of the Netherlands to advance to the men’s singles pre-quarterfinals. He will face Chia Hao Lee of Chinese Taipei next. However, Commonwealth Games 2022 men’s champion Lakshya made a first round exit after losing 18-21, 11-21 to Hong Kong’s Cheuk Yiu Lee, ranked 19th. Meanwhile, Malvika Bansod lost 14-21, 15-21 to Korea’s Kim Ga Eun while Aakarshi Kashyap was handed a 21-15, 21-17 defeat by Germany’s Yvonne Li in the women’s singles events. Kiran George, however, lost his men’s singles tie to bow out. In the women’s doubles, the Indian pair of N Sikki Reddy and Arathi Sara Sunil crashed out in the opening round, losing 12-21, 14-21 against Japan’s Sayaka Hobara and Yui Suizu. Reddy also lost her mixed doubles match, partnering Rohan Kapoor. On the other hand, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, India’s top pair in men’s doubles, defeated the Malaysian pair of Xin Yuan Boon and Tien Ci Wong 21-15, 21-18 to stay in the hunt for a medal.