Basel, March 12 (IANS) World No.9 P.V. Sindhu was the sole bright spot for Indian badminton as all her compatriots lost their respective matches at the $125,000 Swiss Open Grand Prix Gold at St. Jakobshalle here Wednesday.
While the seventh seeded Sindhu won her women’s singles opener, Jwala Gutta, Ashwini Ponnappa, Tarun Kona and Saili Rane ended their journey in the Tier III tournament.
In their first ever match, World Championship bronze medallist Sindhu overcame Malaysian World No.127 Sannatasah Saniru 21-18, 21-15 in 32 minutes to proceed to the second round.
Meanwhile, World No.3 and third seed Shixian Wang of China thrashed Saili Rane 21-8, 21-9 in 31 minutes, also in their first match.
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Polish duo Robert Mateusiak and Agnieszka Wojtkowska accounted for Indian pair Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa in the mixed doubles first round. The Polish combine won 21-10, 16-21, 21-13 in 43 minutes to end India’s challenge in the category.
Ashwini also went on to lose her women’s doubles opener with Jwala to Germans Isabel Herttrich and Carla Nelte. The Germans beat Jwala and Ashwini 21-19, 13-21, 21-18, in a tight encounter which lasted 47 minutes.
Men’s singles shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and Anand Pawar had won their respective men’s singles openers late Tuesday.
Third seed Kashyap took only 34 minutes to beat Dutch challenger Erik Meijs 21-17, 21-15 in their first encounter while Mumbai’s Pawar clinched the win by defeating Malaysia’s Kok Pong Loke 21-17, 21-10 in 26 minutes.
However, rising shuttler Kidambi Srikanth suffered a disappointing loss at the hands of Swedish Henri Hurskainen. The World No.42 Swede upset the fifth seeded Indian 19-21, 21-18, 21-17 in 53 minutes in their first ever match.
