Indonesia Open 2022: Sindu, Sai Praneeth make shocking first-round exits

The Indian shuttlers had a disappointing first day at the tournament.

The Super 1000 series Indonesia Open 2022 is taking place from 14 June to 19 June 2022. It is one of the major tournaments in the calendar year. The best of the best in badminton from across the globe are set to take part in this year’s tournament, taking place in the city of Jakarta at the Istora Gelora Bung Karno.

Among the top shuttlers are the Indian players as well. They will be looking to register good performance in the tournament and snatch the available podium places in their respective categories. However, the first day saw two major Indian individuals bow out of the Indonesia Open 2022. 

Here is a look at how the Indian shuttlers fared on the first day of the Indonesia Open 2022:

Major upset in Women’s Singles

Two-time Olympic medal winner P.V. Sindhu made a shocking exit in the first round of Women’s Singles. She had a tough fixture against He Bingjiao. The shuttler from China was too strong for Sindhu and recorded a straight-game victory by a 21-14, 21-18 scoreline. Within 47 minutes, the World No.7 shuttler from India made an exit from the tournament. There are no other major hopes of a podium finish in this category from India. 

Disappointment for Sai Praneeth

In another setback for the Indian contingent, World No.19 Sai Praneeth lost his first-round fixture in Men’s Singles. He was up against Hans-Kristian Vittinghus of Denmark in the opener. Similar to Sindhu, Praneeth also went down in straight games. The Dane was too strong for the Indian and finished the game by a 21-16, 21-19 score inside 45 minutes.

Praneeth’s elimination puts all the focus on players like Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen. The duo will hope to last longer in the coming days at the Indonesia Open 2022.

Some good takeaways

There were a few moments to rejoice as well for the Indian contingent. Sameer Verma managed to win his first-round fixture in Men’s Singles. The Indian got the better of France’s Thomas Rouxel by a 21-19, 21-15 score. However, his next opponent will be the sixth seed Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia who will be a heavy favourite to win the match. 

Over at the Women’s Doubles, the Indian pair of Ashwini Ponappa and N. Sikki Reddy made their way into the second round by beating Ishika Jaiswal of the USA and Srivedya Gurazada of India. They secured the win by a 21-15, 21-8 score. In the next round, top seeds Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan will be their opponents. Making it into the third round will take an incredible effort, to say the least. 

End of Mixed Doubles challenge

India had only one pair competing in the Mixed Doubles category. Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto crashed out of the tournament in the first round itself. The pair came up against Chang Tak Ching and Ng Wing Yung of Hong Kong who got the better of them by a 21-14, 21-11 score. 

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