62:Saina Nehwal &
Ace Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap had a disappointing start to the Swiss Open as they crashed out of the tournament in the first round on Wednesday. Young badminton stars Sai Praneeth, Sourabh Verma and Ajay Jayaram advanced to the second round of the tournament after registering wins in their respective matches in the opening round. Earlier, PV Sindhu had also got off to a winning start. While Olympic medalist Nehwal lost a closely-fought clash against Thailand's Phittayaporn Chaiwan 16-21, 21-17, 21-23 in a match that lasted 58 minutes, Kashyap faced a defeat against lower-ranked Pablo Abian of Spain 15-21, 10-21 in straight games.
Praneeth, Verma, Jayaram off to winning starts
Meanwhile, Praneeth outshone Israel's Misha Zilberman 21-11, 21-14 in just 34 minutes to secure a place in Round 2 of the competition. In addition, Verma won against Switzerland's Christian Kirchmayr 21-19, 21-18 in his first-round clash. He will be up against Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the Round of 16. Moreover, Ajay Jayaram beat Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand 21-12, 21-13 to secure a berth in the Round of 16 where he will face Denmark's Rasmus Gemke.
Praneeth outclassed Isreal’s Misha Zilberman 21-11,21-14 in just 34 minutes to progress to the next round of the competition. Verma won against Switzerland’s Christian Kirchmayr 21-19 21-18 in his first-round clash. He faces eight seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand in the Round of 16. Ajay Jayaram defeated Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand 21-12 21-13 to enter the Round of 16 where he will face third seed Rasmus Gemke of Denmark.
Sindhu starts off Swiss Open campaign with a win
Earlier, PV Sindhu had got off to a winning start in the Swiss open as she got the better of Neslihan Yigit of Turkey, securing a 21-16, 21-19 win over Yigit. But HS Prannoy crashed out of the tournament post losing to Dutch badminton player Mark Caljouw 21-19, 9-21, 21-17.