BASEL: Indian shuttler Tharun Mannepalli advanced to the men’s singles second round after his opponent Kenta Nishimoto of Japan retired in the decider at the Swiss Open here.
Mannepalli, ranked 43rd in the world, was leading 16-21, 21-16, 7-2 when the fifth-seeded Nishimoto retired from the round of 32 match on Wednesday night due to a shoulder issue.
The 24-year-old, who had reached the semifinals of the Macau Open last year, will next face Malaysia’s Justin Hoh.
In women’s singles, Malvika Bansod failed to get past Thailand’s world No. 4 Pornpawee Chochuwong, going down 11-21, 15-21 in a lop-sided contest. It was her fourth defeat in as many meetings against the Thai player.
Later in the day, world No. 4 men’s doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, along with Kiran George and the Indian mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto, will be in action.