Thailand Open: Kidambi Srikanth will face Nat Nguyen of Ireland in the next round.© AFP
Star badminton player Kidambi Srikanth, who played a key role in India’s historic Thomas Cup win, advanced to the second round of the Thailand Open men’s singles with a three-game win over France’s Bryce Leverdez on Wednesday. In the BWF Super 500 tournament, eighth seed Srikanth won the first round match 18-21, 21-10, 21-16 in 49 minutes. He will next face qualifier Nhat Nguyen of Ireland, who defeated Denmark’s Hans-Kristian Solberg Wittingus 21-12 23-21 in the first round.
The Srikanth-led Indian men’s team defeated powerhouse and 14-time champion Indonesia in the final on Sunday to clinch the country’s maiden Thomas Cup title.
However, in women’s singles, Indian qualifier Ashmita Chaliha lost to seventh seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thaliand 10-21, 15-21 in a first-round match that lasted 29 minutes.
Compatriot and another qualifier, Akarshi Kashyap crashed out of the tournament in the first round after losing 13-21, 18-21 to Canada’s Michelle Lee.
Mixed doubles pair of B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa also crashed out of the first round, going down 17-21, 17-21 to eighth-seeded Japanese pair of Yuki Kaneko and Misaki Matsutomo in 34 minutes.
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Other top Indian shuttlers like PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy, who were also part of the team that won the historic Thomas Cup title, will be in action later in the day.
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