Daijiworld Media Network- China

China, Apr 10: PV Sindhu began her campaign at the Badminton Asia Championships on a positive note, securing a straight-game victory over Indonesia’s Ester Nurumi Wardoyo in the women’s singles. The two-time Olympic medallist and world No. 17 defeated the 19-year-old Indonesian, ranked 36th, 21-15, 21-19 in a match lasting 44 minutes. Sindhu now faces a tough challenge in the pre-quarterfinals against world No. 4 and third seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan.

On the men’s side, it was a disappointing day for India. Lakshya Sen suffered a first-round defeat at the hands of Chinese Taipei’s Lee Chia Hao, losing 18-21, 10-21. Lee, a recent All England finalist, outplayed Sen, who looked out of form throughout the match.

Earlier, HS Prannoy also bowed out in the opening round. Despite winning the second game, he went down 16-21, 21-12, 11-21 to China’s Zu Guang Lu.

However, there was some good news for Indian fans as Kiran George cruised into the pre-quarterfinals with a dominant 21-16, 21-8 win over Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Panarin in just 35 minutes.

In the women’s singles category, it was a rough outing for India as Aakarshi Kashyap, Anupama Upadhyaya, and Malvika Bansod all suffered early exits.

In men’s doubles, the Indian pair of Hariharan Amsakarunan and Ruban Kumar comfortably defeated Sri Lanka’s Madhuka Dulanjana and Lahiru Weerasinghe 21-3, 21-12 to move into the next round.