Saina, Lakshya and Prannoy enter India Open second round

Saina Nehwal, Lakshya Sen and comeback man HS Prannoy registered wins here on Wednesday to progress to the second round of the India Open.

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also crossed the first hurdle, in the men’s doubles competition. Saina, who missed a lot of tournaments last year due to injuries, progressed after her opponent Tereza Svabikova of Czech Republic suffered a back injury and retired mid-way while lagging 20-22, 0-1 in the opening-round match.

Third seed Lakshya thrashed Adham Hatem Elgamal of Egypt 21-15, 21-7 while Prannoy got the better of Spain’s Pablo Abian 21-14, 21-7. World No.10 men’s pairing of Satwiksairaj and Chirag, seeded second, trounced fellow Indian combination of Chirag Arora and Ravi 21-14, 21-10 to advance to the second round of the BWF Super 500 event.