Yonex French Open: Parupalli Kashyap through to second round

Parupalli Kashyap is through to the next round at the Yonex French Open

Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap defeated opponent Thomas Rouxel in the first round of the Yonex French Open today. The eighth-seeded Indian overcame the unseeded French in a two setter. The score was 21-11, 22-20, with the match drawing to a close in a quick 42 minutes.

The first set started closely with the home crowd behind the Frenchman, who was the underdog. The players were neck and neck, with tied scores on various occasions. Tied at 6-6, Kashyap stepped up his game and took a lead of 10-6. Rouxel tried to stage a comeback, but the closest he managed to come was at 10-8. Kashyap raced on from then, and went on to win the set 21-11.

The second set was a tight affair. Kashyap took a 3-0 lead, but the Frenchman kept returning.

At 5-4, the Indian scored 3 back to back points, but Rouxel replied hard to take a 9-8 lead. Both shuttlers kept attacking, coming level at 12-12. The eighth seed upped the ante and won three consecutive points to take a lead of 15-12.

With a 5-point lead at 18-13, Kashyap looked set to finish the game off. Rouxel, however, was in no mood to let go. He came back with a vengeance , but Kashyap took two straight match points at 20-18 and 20-19, to level the set at 20-20. The Indian’s experience paid off as he won the next two points necessary to win the match. The set finished 22-20.

Kashyap will face the winner of the match between Malaysia’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk and England’s Rajiv Ouseph in the next round.