Saina, Sindhu, Ashmita advance to Round 2 of Singapore Open

There were plenty of high-profile shuttlers in action at the BWF World Tour event.

The 2022 edition of the Singapore Open is up and running at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. It involves the best badminton players in various different categories. The tournament also has several Indian shuttlers who will be competing against top badminton stars of the world for supremacy.

On Wednesday, several major shuttlers were in action in multiple different categories, ranging from singles to doubles. The competition at the Singapore Open is going to be intense and it will test the resolve of the Indians. It was a good performance by the Indian contingent, particularly in the Women’s Singles category where Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu and Ashmita Chaliha all recorded wins.

The first day was full of exciting contests. There were a few upsets to observe as well. Here is a look at the results from Wednesday’s action at the 2022 Singapore Open:

Men’s Singles

India’s Kidambi Srikanth, the seventh seed, faced elimination in the first round after losing to compatriot Mithun Manjunath. The match went on for three games which saw Manjunath secure victory by a 21-17, 15-21, 21-18 score. It was a comfortable outing for in-form shuttler H.S. Prannoy. He beat Sitthikom Thammasin of Thailand by a 21-13, 21-16 score. He will face Chou Tien-Chen in the next round who eased past Guang Zu Lu of China by a 26-24, 21-17 score.

Parupalli Kashyap was up against fifth seed Jonathan Christie in a tough first-round tie. The Indonesian strolled past the Indian by a 21-14, 21-15 score. Sameer Verma was also in action against Li Shi Feng of China. The Indian shuttler went down against his Chinese opponent in straight sets by 21-10, 21-13.

Women’s Singles

Top seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei won her first-round game with Pai Yu Po by a 21-17, 21-16 score. Fourth seed Ratchanok Intanon had to retire from her first-round tie against Shuo Yun Sung of Chinese Taipei and bowed out of the tournament.

Ashmita Chaliha caused a huge upset by defeating seventh seed Busanan Ongbamrungphan by 21-16 21-11 inside 31 minutes to advance into the second round. Saina Nehwal also recorded a comfortable win in the first round as she beat compatriot Malvika Bansod by a 21-18, 21-14 score. P.V. Sindhu was also among the winners as she beat Lianne Tan of Belgium by 21-15, 21-11. The third seed is one of the strong contenders to win the tournament. 

Doubles Action

Indian pair of Pooja Dandu and Arathi Sunil got a walkover into the second round. They will face Yue Du and Li Wen Mei of China in the next tie, who are also the sixth seeds. In Mixed Doubles, Nithin H.V and Poorvisha Ram were playing against Misha Zilberman and Svetlana Zilberman. The Indian pair defeated the Israeli mother-son duo in straight sets by 21-15, 21-14.

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