2015 Japan Open Superseries: Parupalli Kashyap through to the quarterfinals

Parupalli Kashyap booked a place in the quarterfinals

World No.8 Parupalli Kashyap won the battle of the Indians at the Japan Open Superseries on Thursday, beating World No.4 Kidambi Srikanth 21-11 21-19 in the second round of the competition.

The opening game saw both players win 6 out of their first 12 points, before Kashyap took control of proceedings, winning 3 points straight to go 9-6 up. He then maintained the lead over his fellow Indian throughout, to eventually seal the game 21-11 in his favor and take the decisive lead.

The second game saw Kashyap take an early 4-1 lead before Srikanth fought back to win 3 points straight to level the scores at 4-4. It was a topsy-turvy affair after that, but at the 8-8 mark, The 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medalist won 5 points on the trot to go 13-8 up and then held on to that advantage until the 19-15 mark, when Srikanth clawed his way back to win 4 points straight to equal the scores at 19-19.

But Kashyap held on to his nerve and eventually took the game 21-19 to book a place in the quarterfinals of the competition. This will certainly come as a boost in confidence for Kashyap after he suffered a second-round loss at the World Championships last month and he would be hoping to move deeper into the competition in future.

While it was joy for Kashyap on one hand, India’s third Men’s Singles contender HS Prannoy lost to Lee Dong Keun of Korea in straight games 21-19 21-16.

Final Scoreline – Paruapalli Kashyap beat Kidambi Srikanth 21-11 21-19