Sindhu, Saina make winning start

Olympic and World Championship silver medallist Sindhu opened the new season with a fighting 22-24 21-8 21-17 win over 2012 London Games champion Li Xuerui of China in a 54-minute women’s singles match. The second-seeded Indian will now be pitted against Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung.

Eighth seed Saina recovered from a first-game loss to secure a 7-21 21-16 21-11 win over local hope Dinar Dyah Ayustine, ranked 50th, in another women’s singles clash. It was Saina’s third win over Ayustine. The 28-year-old from Hyderabad will next face another Indonesian, Fitriani Fitriani, against whom she has a 4-0 head-to-head record.

In men’s singles, eighth seed Srikanth eased past Malaysia’s Chong Wei Feng 21-12 21-8 to set up a showdown with Japan’s Asian Games bronze medallist Kenta Nishimoto. But, compatriots B Sai Praneeth and Subhankar Dey failed to cross the opening hurdle at the tournament.

Praneeth was sent packing 12-21 16-21 by Olympic champion Chen Long of China in 40 minutes, while Subhankar fought hard before going down 14-21 21-19 15-21 to former World champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark. Local hope Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, seeded seventh, proved a difficult customer for Parupalli Kashyap once again as he claimed a 21-12 21-16 win over the former Commonwealth Games champion.

In men’s doubles, national champions Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy dished out a fighting game to notch up a 14-21 21-19 21-15 win over Denmark’s Mads Pieler Kolding and Niclas Nohr.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy bowed out of the competition, losing 14-21 14-21 to Thailand’s Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai in the women’s doubles opener.