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All-England Open: Sindhu advances, Srikanth and Saina knocked out

By, New Delhi
Mar 18, 2021 08:47 AM IST

Srikanth lost the contest 11-21, 21-15, 12-21, while Kashyap was knocked out after losing in straight games.

India shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth and Parupalli Kashyap faced a first-round defeat to Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt, Irish shuttler Nhat Nguyen and Kento Momota of Japan respectively at the All-England Badminton Championship on Wednesday, while PV Sindhu secured a comfortable 21-11, 21-17 win against Soniia Cheah of Malaysia

Saina Nehwal.(REUTERS)
Saina Nehwal.(REUTERS)

Nehwal had to retire in her opening round match in Birmingham. The 31-year-old was trailing 0-4 in the second game after losing the first 8-21 when Nehwal decided that she cannot continue playing.

Srikanth lost the contest 11-21, 21-15, 12-21, while Kashyap endured a straight-game defeat losing 13-21, 20-22. Sindhu took less than 40 minutes to wrap her first game, putting on a superlative display.

Srikanth was the first Indian shuttler in action on Wednesday. Up against the Irish, Srikanth looked out of sorts in the first game, losing it comprehensively. In the second game however, the shuttler upped his game and stretched his lead to 15-7 over Nguyen before closing out the second game.

The decider started with Nguyen dominating, but Srikanth came back strongly to reduce the gap. In the end however, the Irish shuttler stretched his lead further before taking the game and recording India's first elimination of the evening.

On the other court, Kashyap was outplayed in the first round, losing it 1-21, and looked out of it until the first 11 points. Kashyap retaliated to eventually force the game to 20-20 but Momota asserted his supremacy and handed India a second straight elimination in the men's category.

As for Sindhu, the shuttler never looked in any sort of discomfort. She had the first game rather easy, racing to a 7-2 lead before winning it 21-11. In the second game, Cheah forced a comeback into the match, matching Sindhu point for point. The two shuttlers were going neck-and-neck at one stage, with the scoreline reading 11-11 and 14-14 as the game progressed. It further went on to 17-17 before Sindhu secured four points in a row to advance into the pre-quarters.

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