Vantaa, Oct 8:
India’s HS Prannoy suffered an early exit at the Arctic Open Super 500, but men’s doubles pair Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy produced one of the biggest wins of their careers by knocking out the fifth seeds from China in the opening round.
The 34-year-old Prannoy, who was part of India’s Asian Games contingent, was beaten 10-21, 9-21 by fourth-seeded Dane Anders Antonsen. The loss extended Prannoy’s difficult run this season as he struggled to match the pace and control of his highly ranked opponent.
Krishna and Pruthvi, however, provided the Indian contingent with a major boost. The unseeded pair defeated China’s fifth-seeded He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu 10-21, 21-18, 22-20 in a closely fought contest to enter the second round.
The victory is particularly significant for the Indian pair, who have been enjoying a productive season. Krishna and Pruthvi won back-to-back titles at the Saint-Denis Reunion Open and the VI Mexican International Challenge in May, and their latest victory over a seeded Chinese combination adds another notable result to their campaign.
India’s Tanvi Sharma had also progressed to the second round after defeating Taiwan’s Chiu Pin Chian 21-15, 21-17. However, Isharani Baruah was eliminated after losing 10-21, 15-21 to Thailand’s top seed Ratchanok Intanon.
Later in the opening-round programme, India’s Tharun Mannepalli was scheduled to face Denmark’s Magnus Johannesen, while Rounak Chouhan was drawn against China’s Weng Hong Yang and Kidambi Srikanth was set to take on Canada’s Brian Yang.