Sindhu, Srikanth make winning start in Thailand Open 2022

Many Indian shuttlers registered wins on the first day of the tournament.

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu started the Thailand Open 2022 with a much-needed win. After a disappointing run with the Indian team in the Uber Cup, She will be looking to win the title and stamp her authority on world badminton once again.

She defeated Lauren Lem 21-19, 19-21, 21-18 on Wednesday to progress into the second round of the Thailand Open. The American shuttler won a game against Sindhu in the first round of the tournament. However, Sindhu made sure that she doesn't succumb to pressure and crash out of the tournament.

The Olympian won the match in almost one hour and will now face Sim Yu Jin of South Korea in the next round. In another first-round clash in the women's singles category, Youngster Malvika Bansod produced a remarkable comeback to progress further in the tournament. She beat Maria Ulitina of Ukraine 17-21, 21-15, 21-11 and will face Line Christophersen of Denmark in the next match.

On the other hand, Saina Nehwal, Ashmita Chaliha and Aakarshi Kashyap crashed out of the tournament after facing defeats in their respective first-round matches. South Korea's Kim Ga-eun beat Nehwal 11-21, 21-15, 21-17, while World No. 8 Ratchanok Intanon crushed Chaliha 21-10, 21-15 in straight games. Kashyap faced defeat by 12-21, 18-21 against Michelle Li.

Srikanth continues to impress

Kidambi Srikanth played an important role in India's gold medal-winning run in the recently concluded Thomas Cup. He continued his form in the first round of the Thailand Open as well. The World No. 11 played a long match against Brice Leverdez of France that lasted for 49 minutes. He lost the first game but came back strongly to win the next two and clinch the match by 18-21 21-10 21-16.

He will now face Nhat Nguyen of Ireland in the second round of the tournament. On the other hand, B Sai Praneeth and Sourabh Verma crashed out of the tournament. Local boy Kantaphon Wangcharoen beat Sai Praneeth 21-12, 21-13 in straight games, while France's Toma Junior Popov defeated Verma 22-20, 21-12 to throw him out of the competition.

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