Tokyo: It was a mixed day for India at the Japan Open as four shuttlers, including Saina Nehwal reached the second round, while others bowed out of the singles events of the Super Series badminton tournament here on Wedneeday.
World No. 1 Saina eked out a close 21-14 22-20 win over Thailand’s Busanan Ongbumrungpan in the women’s singles and the second seed will next take on Japan’s Minatsu Mitani, an opponent against whom the Indian has a 5-2 record.
Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap, who turned 29 on Tuesday, was handed a win by Japan’s Takuma Ueda after he retired midway due to a back injury at 3-2 in the men’s singles opening game at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium.
The 2010 CWG bronze winner will next take on compatriot Kidambi Srikanth, seeded third, who beat Ireland’s Scott Evans 21-18 21-15 in another men’s singles match.
The duo had meet at Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold event, where Kashyap had the last laugh.
Indonesia Masters winner H S Prannoy also notched up a thrilling 23-21 22-20 win over Wong Wing Ki Vincent of Hong Kong in 49 minutes. The World No. 12 will next square up against Korea’s Lee Dong Keun.
Meanwhile, Rohan Boapanna’s campaign in the men’s doubles ended after he and his Romanian partner Florin Mergea suffered a straight set loss in the quarterfinals of US Open tennis here on Wednesday.
The sixth seeded Indo-Romanian duo lost 6-7 3-6 to unseeded pair of Dominic Inglot of Great Britain and Sweden’s Robert Lindstedt in a contest that lasted 80 minutes on court number 17.
Inglot and Lindstedt took 44 minutes to win the first set and 36 minutes to take the second.
The Inglot-Lindstedt pair smashed five aces and 28 winners on their way to the semifinals, while Bopanna and Mergea hit six aces and 23 winners. Bopanna and Mergea committed 13 unforced errors, one less than the winning duo. (PTI)
