US Open Badminton: Parupalli Kashyap stuns the top seed, HS Prannoy advances

Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap stole the show at the $120,000 Yonex US Open by stunning the top seed and defending champion Lee Hyun II of Korea in the first round of this Grand Prix Gold event held at Anaheim, California on Wednesday. Kashyap needed one hour three minutes to edge the Korean for a 21-16, 10-21, 21-19 win.

Prior to this match, Kashyap had a losing 2-3 head-to-head record over the 21st ranked Lee, who reached the semi-finals of the Canada Open just last week.

The 30-year-old Indian next meets the 130th ranked Gergely Krausz of Hungary.

Prannoy, Sameer progress

HS Prannoy makes a moveKashyap was joined in the second round by the second seed HS Prannoy and the fifth seed Sameer Verma.

Prannoy erased the setback of his pre-quarter-final loss at the Canada Open and started off his US Open campaign in style with a 21-12, 21-16 win over Austria’s Luka Wraber. His next opponent is the World No. 188 Joshua Magee of Ireland.

Sameer Verma made a triumphant return to the BWF Tour from a shoulder injury that had robbed him three months. Playing his first international match since April, he easily dismissed Hoang Nam Nguyen, 21-5, 21-10 to set up a meeting with Croatian player Zvonimir Durkinjak.

Harsheel Dani was the fourth Indian to make it through to the second round. Dani beat Arturo Hernandez 21-13, 21-9 and next faces the 15th seed Tien Minh Nguyen for a place in the pre-quarter-finals.

Rituparna wins, Ruthvika bows out

In a tale of contrasting fortunes for two of India’s emerging women’s singles stars, national champion Rituparna Das won her first round while the South Asian Games gold medallist Ruthvika Shivani Gadde crashed out.

Das (ranked 47) comfortably beat the World No. 61 Rachel Honderich, 21-16, 21-18 and now takes on the seventh seed Natalia Koch Rohde.

Gadde (WR 89) lost a narrow three-game match to the third seed and World No. 18 Aya Ohori, 14-21, 27-25, 16-21 which was reminiscent of her three-game loss to the Japanese just last week at the Canada Open.

Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli also advanced, courtesy of a 21-13, 21-16 win over American Maya Chen. She has a tough task up next as she has the fifth seed Jang Mi Lee as her second round opponent.

Reshma Karthik and Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka, meanwhile, lost their respective first round matches.

Chopra-Reddy, Rankireddy-Shetty exit

In men’s doubles, third seeds Manu Attri-Sumeeth Reddy and Tarun Kona-Alwin Francis made it to the second round but fourth seeds and India No. 1 pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty was edged 21-8, 19-21, 19-21 by the Japanese combine of Kohei Gondo and Tatsuya Watanabe.

There was a huge upset in mixed doubles as the third seeded Indian pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy was shown the door by the English team of Ben Lane and Jessica Pugh, 21-19, 19-21, 17-21.

Manu Attri and K Maneesha entered the second round in that same category but Tarun Kona and Meghana Jakkampudi were made to head for the exits.

In women’s doubles, the Indian pair of Jakkampudi and Poorvisha S Ram made a winning start.