Saina Nehwal Loses to Ratchanok Intanon in French Open Quarters World No. 2 Saina, who came into the match with a 6-3 head-to-head record, lost 9-2,1 15-21 to Intanon, ranked 7th, in a women's singles match that lasted 39 minutes at the Stade Pierre de Coube.

The Indian challenge ended at the French Open Super Series badminton tournament after top seed Saina Nehwal suffered a straight game defeat to Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon in the quarterfinals here on Friday.

World No. 2 Saina, who came into the match with a 6-3 head-to-head record, lost 9-2,1 15-21 to Intanon, ranked 7th, in a women's singles match that lasted 39 minutes at the Stade Pierre de Coube.

In the prequarterfinals match, Saina had tamed Japanese Minatsu Mitani in straight games after two successive defeats against the Japanese at Japan Open and Denmark Open.

Among others, H S Prannoy, Ajay Jayaram, and women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost in the second round yesterday.

In the second round match, Saina dished out a superb game to see off the World Championship bronze medallist Mitani 21-19, 21-16 in a 41-minute match to set up a fight with eight seed Intanon.

In men's singles, NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong ended the run of Prannoy, who had beaten two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China, with a 21-15, 21-10 win in the second round.

Two-time Dutch Open winner Jayaram too failed to cross the second round after suffering a 18-21, 8-21 loss to Tian Houwei of China.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games champions Jwala and Ashwini lost 15-21, 18-21 to eight seeds Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek of Netherlands.

Saina Nehwal Reaches French Open Quarters, HS Prannoy Crashes Out Top seed Saina Nehwal defeated Minatsu Mitani 21-19, 21-16 in the second round of the French Open

After two successive defeats at Japan and Denmark, Saina Nehwal finally tamed Japanese Minatsu Mitani in straight games to reach the quarter-finals of the $275,000 French Super Series in Paris.

The World No.2 emerged as the only surviving Indian at the tournament after compatriots H S Prannoy, Ajay Jayaram, and women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost in the second round on Thursday.

Saina dished out a superb game to see off the World Championship bronze medallist Mitani 21-19, 21-16 in a 41-minute women's singles match to set up a fight with eight seed Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand.

In men's singles, NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong ended the run of Prannoy, who had beaten two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan of China, with a 21-15, 21-10 win against the Indian in the second round.

Two-time Dutch Open winner Jayaram too failed to cross the second round after suffering a 18-21, 8-21 loss to Tian Houwei of China.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games champions, Jwala and Ashwini lost 15-21, 18-21 to eight seeds Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek of Netherlands.

Parupalli Kashyap Retires Against England's Rajiv Ouseph in French Open

Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap bowed out of the men's singles event of French Open after he retired in the third game of his second round match against Rajiv Ouseph of England in the $275,000 Super Series tournament in Paris. 

Eighth seed Kashyap lost the opening game but came back strongly in the second only to be forced to concede the match in the decider.

In the end of the 43-minute match, Rajiv advanced to the quarter-finals with a 21-11, 13-21, 4-2 win over the Indian at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

The England shuttler played a dominating game as he didn't allow Kashyap much chance in the opening game. He lead 11-5 at the break in the first game and then slowly crafted his way to pocket the game.

In the second, Kashyap turned the tables as he lead 5-1 early on and then jumped to a 11-4 lead at the interval. He went from strength to strength to bounce back in style but the decider ended at 2-4 when he retired midway.

Meanwhile in another game, HS Pronnoy went down to Hong Kong's NG Ka Long Angus 21-15, 21-10 in 31 minutes. Playing flawless badminton, Long Angus advanced to the quarter-finals of the Super Series tournament.

In another game, Ajay Jayaram went down to China's Tian Houwei 21-18, 21-8 in 36 minutes.

Saina Nehwal Loses World No. 1 Rank

New Delhi: Saina Nehwal lost her world No.1 spot to reigning world champion Carolina Marin as the Badminton World Federation (BWF) released its rankings on Thursday.

Saina's performance in the last two tournaments -- Japan Open and Denmark Open -- where she lost to Japan's Minatsu Mitani in the second round of both the events, led her to drop to No.2 in women's singles.

However, P.V. Sindhu remained stagnant at No.13 despite her appearance in the final of the Denmark Open on Sunday.

In men's singles, it wasn't great news as Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and H.S. Prannoy all dropped in rankings. While Srikanth slid a spot to be sixth, reigning Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap slipped two places to be at No.10.

Prannoy, who defeated the great Lin Dan of China in Paris on Wednesday, also went down a position to No.17 but Ajay Jayaram climbed a place to be ranked No.25.

In men's doubles, Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy climbed a place to be at No.19, but Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa dropped a place to be ranked No.13 in women's doubles.

HS Prannoy Shocks Lin Dan in French Open First Round Unseeded Prannoy rallied from a set down to beat his formidable third seeded rival 14-21, 21-11, 21-17 in a first round match that lasted one hour and 11 minutes at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

Paris: Indian shuttler HS Prannoy stunned reigning Olympic champion Lin Dan of China  to enter the second round of the USD 275,000 French Open Super Series here on Wednesday.

Unseeded Prannoy rallied from a set down to beat his formidable third seeded rival 14-21, 21-11, 21-17 in a first round match that lasted one hour and 11 minutes at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

Top seed Saina tamed World No. 14 Michelle Li of Canada 21-18 21-13 in a 42-minute women's singles match, while eighth seed and Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap saw off local shuttler Thomas Rouxel 21-11, 22-20 in a men's singles contest.

Indian women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also advanced to the second round after defeating Thailand duo of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai 21-15 21-12.

However, it was curtains for World No. 5 Kidambi Srikanth as he went down fighting to Tian Houwei 15-21, 21-13, 11-21 in a 63-minute match. This is Srikanth's fourth loss to the World No 10 Chinese this season.

Prannoy lost the opening set tamely as the veteran former world number one Lin gave him little chance after the two were tied at 7-7. Lin raced ahead to take the set 21-14 in quick time.

But the Indian made a remarkable fightback and suddenly Lin was struggling to make a match with Prannoy who led all through after the score was tied at 2-2.

In the decider, Prannoy nosed ahead initially but Lin made a fightback to level the score to 14-14 and 15-15. From then on, however, Prannoy stepped on the gas and made his final flourish to take the deciding set 21-17 and win the match.

In the women's singles match, Commonwealth Games champion Michelle made a robust start to her campaign, leading 7-3 early on but Olympic bronze-medallist Saina soon reeled off six straight points to grab the lead.

The duo then battled for each point, moving neck and neck till 16-16 when Saina surged ahead to grab the opening game.

In the second game, Saina was more ruthless as she opened up a massive 12-5 lead and didn't allow Michelle to come anywhere near her to seal the match comfortably.

Meanwhile, PV Sindhu lost 10-21, 11-21 to Wang Shixian of China in her first round match.

Saina will next take on Japan's Minatsu Mitani who made it to the second round after her opponent Karin Schnaase of Germany retired hurt. Interestingly, Mitani had ended Saina's run at the Denmark Open last week.

In the men's singles match, Kashyap fought back from 1-3 down early on to turned the tables at 6-6. The Indian didn't look back after that as he marched ahead to pocket the first game.

Kashyap led 8-4 in the second game initially and even though Thomas did claw back at 8-8, the Indian moved ahead to 18-13.

Thomas made one more surge and drew parity at 20-20 but he failed to go the distance as Kashyap shut the door with two points.

Kashyap will next face England's Rajiv Ouseph who beat Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-6 21-12.

BWF French Open:Top seed Saina Nehwal tamed world No. 14 Michelle Li of Canada 21-18 21-13, eighth seed Parupalli Kashyap saw off local shuttler Thomas Rouxel 21-11 22-20 in a men's singles contest.

Paris: Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Parupalli Kashyap and the doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa advanced but Kidambi Srikanth crashed out in the first round of the $275,000 French Open Superseries here on Wednesday.

World Championships 2015 silver medallist Saina registered a 21-18, 21-13 win over world No.15 Michelle Li of Canada at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin. The 25-year-old world No.1 took 42 minutes to win the first encounter between the two till date.

In the second round, top seeded Saina will face world No.18 Minatsu Mitani of Japan, who has defeated her in their last two meetings -- at the Japan Open and the Denmark Open. Minatsu also defeated Saina in the final of the 2012 French Open.

Men's singles World No.8 Kashyap moved past Belgian qualifier Thomas Rouxel 21-11, 22-20 in 41 minutes.

In the second round, 2014 Commonwealth Games (CWG) champion Kashyap will meet England's Rajiv Ouseph, who got past Thai Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-6, 21-12. Kashyap leads 5-3 in the head-to-head record against World No.22 Ouseph.

Fifth seed Srikanth lost to Chinese Tian Houwei 15-21, 21-13, 11-21 in an hour and three minutes. Now, Guntur-born Srikanth has suffered four defeats in as many games against World No.10 Houwei.

World Championships 2011 bronze medal-winning women's doubles pair of Jwala and Ashwini took just 31 minutes to tame the Thai combination of Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai 21-15, 21-12.

B Sai Praneeth Fails to Qualify for French Open Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei took just 36 minutes to beat B Sai Praneeth 21-15, 21-15 at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth lost in the first round of the men's singles qualifiers, failing to qualify for the main draw of the $275,000 French Open Superseries here on Tuesday.

Chinese Taipei's Wang Tzu Wei took just 36 minutes to beat Sai 21-15, 21-15 at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin.

P.V. Sindhu, Saina Nehwal Look to Sizzle at French Open

Paris: Having reached her maiden Super Series final at Denmark Open, India's PV Sindhu will now look to continue her rampaging form at the French Open Super Series, which will also see top shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth leading the charge at the $275,000 event starting with the qualifiers here on Tuesday. 

Two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, Sindhu had a dream run last week as she made it to her maiden Super Series final at the Denmark Open in Odense before losing to Olympic champion Li Xuerui to end as a runner-up.

The Hyderabadi, who lost a lot of times this season while nursing a foot injury, will start her campaign against formidable Chinese Wang Shixian. Sindhu has beaten Shixian four times and lost twice.

World No. 1 Saina will also be in action after her second round exit at Odense. She will square up against reigning Commonwealth Games champion Michelle Li of Canada at the Stade Pierre de Coubertin here.

In men's singles, fifth seed Srikanth will face Tian Houwei of China, while H S Prannoy will meet China's most celebrated shuttler Lin Dan, seeded third in the tournament.

Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap, seeded eighth, who had lost in the first round after going down to Lee Chong Wei at Odense, will take on a qualifier in the first round.

In women's doubles, 2010 Commonwealth Games champions Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will play Thailand's Jongkolphan Kititharakul and Rawinda Prajongjai in the first round.

In the qualifiers on Tuesday, India's B Sai Praneeth will be up against Tzu Wei Wang of Chinese Taipei and two-time Dutch Open winner Ajay Jayaram will face local shuttler Thomas Rouxel.

The unseeded PV Sindhu lost 19-21, 12-21 against fourth seed Li Xuerui of China in the Denmark Open final on Sunday.

Odense, Denmark: P.V. Sindhu's dream run at the Denmark Open ended in agony as the Indian shuttler suffered a straight-game defeat against Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China in the final of the $650,000 Super Series Premier badminton event, here on Sunday.

Playing her maiden Super Series final, the two-time bronze medallist at the World Championship Sindhu could not break the stranglehold of Li, who played a compact game and rode on her repertoire of strokes to notch up a 21-19 21-12 win in the summit clash which lasted 47 minutes.

In the opening game, Li opened up a slender 3-0 lead early on but Sindhu soon wrested control at 8-6 and then ended the break with a 11-10 lead. After the breather, Sindhu stepped on the gas and zoomed to a massive 16-10 lead.

However, Li is not the one to take it lying low and she soon changed gears. The Chinese played some delectable drops to bamboozle Sindhu and narrow the gap to 13-16. But a down the line smash from Sindhu helped her gather another point. The Indian lost a couple of points at the nets to allow Li claw back to 16-17.

Li Xuerui exults after defeating PV Sindhu in the final on Sunday.

© AFP

Li mixed her shots well and varied the pace to deceive Sindhu and draw parity at 17-17. An outstretched Sindhu failed to connect next as Li grabbed the lead. Sindhu then upped the tempo and gave an aggressive charge to pocket the next point.

Li then engaged in a flat game and Sindhu failed to connect. Her shot got buried at the nets and the Chinese gained a two-point lead to be at 20-18. An accurate down the line return helped Sindhu save one but she erred in judging the shuttle next to allow Li walk away with the first game that lasted 26 minutes.

In the second game, Li again moved to a 3-1 lead after Sindhu lost her second video referral. Errors seemed to creep in her game as her smashes were going wide and long, allowing Li to surge ahead 6-1 in a jiffy.

A poorly executed net shot and failure to connect a return at the forecourt by Li helped Sindhu earn a couple of points but Li continued to ride on the errors committed by the Indian.

The Chinese played some sharp angled shots which Sindhu had no clue. In fact, Sindhu's regular returns also started going wide as Li moved into the interval with a 11-4.

The drift in the hall also bothered Sindhu as she could not guage the length of the shots even as Li rode on some spectacular shots to move to 13-4. With her armoury of shots, Li left Sindhu wrong-footed and sometimes completely clueless to soon move to 15-7.

Sindhu threw herself at the court, stretching at the back and fore court but Li was simply outstanding as she led 19-12 with a cross court slice, out of the reach of the Indian.

Li reached the match point after Sindhu hit long once again and she won her first title of the injury-ridden season without much ado with another shot which the Indian let go.

Last month, India's Ajay jayaram had reached his maiden Super Series Final at Korea Open and then defended his title at the Dutch Grand Prix.

PV Sindhu continued her fine run in the Denmark Open badminton tournament as she defeated world number two Carolina Marin of Spain 21-15, 18-21, 21-17 in a match that lasted 72 minutes.

Odense, Denmark: P.V. Sindhu on Saturday made it to her maiden Super Series final with a stunning upset victory over reigning world champion Carolina Marin of Spain in the Denmark Open here. 

The unseeded Indian beat the world number two and All England champion Marin 21-15 18-21 21-17 in a closely-fought semifinal that lasted one hour and 14 minutes at Odense Sports Park in the USD 650,000 Super Series Premier event here.

This was 20-year-old Hyderabadi's first win against Marin in their last four outings.

Sindhu, a twice bronze medallist in World Championships, will now take on former world number one and reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui -- ranked fourth in the tournament -- of China in the summit clash on Sunday.

Xuerui had beaten Korean seventh seed Sung Ji Hyun 21-8 20-22 21-10 in the other semifinal.

Sindhu had never gone past the semifinals in the Super Series or Super Series Premier events.

Both Sindhu and Marin began the match on an equal footing before the Indian grabbed five points on the trot to cruise to a 8-3 lead before Marin closed the gap gradually.

Sindhu, the lone surviving Indian, kept the lead as the two rivals exchanged their services for a while before the Indian took four straight points to reach to game point before pocketing the first set 21-15.

It was Marin who began the second set on a bright note as she took the early lead but the Indian fought back immediately to make it 3-3 and then 5-3 by winning four straight points.

But suddenly, Sindhu lost her concentration as world number two Marin made it 6-6 before zooming to 11-6 by taking five points on the trot.

The unseeded Indian made a smart recovery to take the score to 16-18. But Marin kept her composure to take the next two points and reach to game point. Sindhu made a last-ditched effort by winning the next two points but the Spaniard closed out the second set 21-18 with a cross-court smash to take the match to the decider.

The deciding set was a tough contest and at one time it looked like Marin would run away as winner but Sindhu made a brilliant fightback under tremendous pressure to first close the gap and then zoomed ahead to win the tie and maintained her rampaging form in the tournament.

After the score was tied at 5-5 and then 8-8 with none of the two willing to give an inch to the other, Marin inched ahead at 12-9 but Sindhu bounced back to make it 11-12.

The Spaniard once again took three points in a row to be 15-11 ahead and it seemed that she would break free only to see a resilient Sindhu closed the gap to take the score to 14-16.

From there on, the Indian won six points on the trot to reach to the game and match point. Marin made a one last try by winning a point and take the score to 17-20 but it was all over soon as Sindhu bagged the next point to pocket the deciding set and the match.

Earlier in the quarterfinals, Sindhu had beaten former world number one Wang Yihan of China in straight games.

Sindhu, who had lost to Yihan -- a 2011 World Champion and silver medallist at 2012 London Olympics -- four times in the past, dished out a 21-18 21-19 win over the sixth seed Chinese.

Saina Nehwal, Ajay Jayaram Start Campaign at Denmark Open

New Delhi: After skipping the Korea Open, World No. 1 Saina Nehwal will be back in action when she leads the Indian challenge at the Denmark Open and sharing some of the limelight in the USD 650,000 Super Series Premier event will be Ajay jayaram, who clinched the Dutch Open last evening.

Saina, who had clinched the Denmark title in 2012, is supremely confident after weaving some stupendous performances this year and the Indian ace will look to continue her dominant run when she starts her campaign against Busanan Ongbumrungphan of Thailand on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old from Hyderabad, who won the India Super Series and Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold, a silver medal at World Championship, a runners-up finish at All England, is likely to be tested only after quarterfinals if she plays to her reputation.

Also brimming with confidence will be Jayaram, who reached his maiden Super Series final at the Korea Open in September and then defended his men's singles title at the Dutch Open Grand Prix last night.

The Mumbai-born shuttler will have to go through the qualifiers, where he will take on Germany's Fabian Roth at the Odense Sports Park tomorrow.

"Danish Open Super Series will offer bigger challenges. I am looking to take the positives from this tournament (Dutch Open) and give my best next week," he had said after winning the men's singles title at Almere.

Blowing hot and cold this year, two-time bronze medallist at the World Championship, P V Sindhu, will also look to put his best foot forward when she starts her campaign against Indonesia's Maria Febe Kusumastuti.

In men's singles, World No. 5 Kidambi Srikanth, Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap and World No. 16 HS Prannoy will lead the Indian challenge.

While Srikanth's first-round opponent is yet to be decided after the withdrawl of Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk, Kashyap will have to fight it out against former world No. 1 and two-time Olympic silver medallist Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia and Prannoy will take on Chinese Taipei's Hsu Jen Hao.

The Indian men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy, who finished runnersup at Dutch Open yesterday, will square up against England combo of Marcus Ellis and Chris Langridge.

In women's doubles, 2014 Commonwealth Games silver winning pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa will be back in business after missing the Korea Open as they take on Japanese seventh seed Reika Kakiiwa and Miyuki Maeda.

Third seed Ajay Jayaram defeated 12th seed Raul Must 21-12, 21-18 in the Dutch Open final

Almere, The Netherlands: Ajay Jayaram notched up a superb straight-game win over Estonia's Raul Must in the finals to defend his men's singles title at the Dutch Open Grand Prix here on Sunday. 

Just three weeks after reaching his maiden Super Series final at Korea Open, Jayaram continued his rampaging run as he defeated 12th seed and World No.48 Raul 21-12 21-18 in a 34-minute lop-sided match.

The 28-year-old Mumbai-born shuttler had lost to Raul way back in 2010 Austrian International Challenge but a lot has happened ever since as Jayaram dished out a dominating show to walk away with the title without much ado.

In the opening game, World No. 26 Jayaram opened up a 4-0 lead early on and didn't allow Raul to come anywhere near him as he extended his lead and eventually earned the bragging rights.

Raul, who had ended the run of another Indian RMV Gurusaidutt in the quarterfinals, showed signs of recovery in the second game when he turned the tables on Jayaram at 6-5 at the Topsportcentrum.

But the Indian quickly clawed back and broke off at 7-7 to keep his nose ahead even though Raul kept breathing down his neck. Jayaram, who is coached by Tom John at Bangalore, grabbed two match points first and then slammed the door on Must to clinch a deserving win.

Jayaram had won the Dutch Open, his maiden title last year. This is the second title of his career.

Jayaram said he was under pressure to deliver as he was the top-ranked player in the tournament but happy that he has lived up to the expectations.

"I am happy with the way I played this week. It has been a fantastic week. I am happy with the way I defended the title. I did well in the last tournament and I came into this event as highest ranked player. So there was a lot of expectation and pressure," he told PTI.

"But my positive attitude helped me and I enjoyed myself on court," he added.

Talking about the match further, he said, "I am quite happy with the way I played today. I started off well and maintained a good level of pressure throughout. It did get close in the second set but I did well at crucial junctures.

"Next up for me is the Danish Open Super Series. Bigger challenges are awaiting there. I am looking to take the positives from this tournament and give my best next week," he said.

Chief coach Pullela Gopichand commended Jayaram for the title win.

"It is a good result. The way he has made a comeback from injury and then to reach back to back finals at Korea and win at Dutch is commendable. I hope it gives him the confidence in the next events," Gopichand said.

"He always had the game and it is a matter of confidence. So it is a very good win and I wish him all the best."

Asked if Jayaram has a chance of qualifying for Olympics, Gopichand said: "Yes, definitely. This are early days and I think if he can continue his form, good things can happen."

Talking about the level of competition in Indian badminton, Gopichand said: "It is really goods. I am happy with the way things are going. A lot of players are doing well. In fact, Manu and Sumeeth also reached the finals and I hope they win the title.

"Also, there are juniors such as Krishna Prasad Garaga and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy who won the Asia U17 & U15 Junior Championships in boys doubles. So overall, many good things happening and it is important to set the bar even higher now."

Third seed Jayaram, who reached the Korea Open final last month, had a comfortable 21-14, 21-13 win in 31 minutes over Kasper Lehikoinen of Finland at the Topsportcentrum Almere here. Later, ninth seed Gurusaidutt defeated Ukraine's Dmytro Zavadsky 21-12, 21-11 in 33 minutes in the third round.

Almere: Indian shuttlers Ajay Jayaram and R.M.V. Gurusaidutt advanced to the men's singles quarterfinals with straight-game victories at the $50,000 Dutch Open Grand Prix here on Thursday.

Third seed Jayaram, who reached the Korea Open final last month, had a comfortable 21-14, 21-13 win in 31 minutes over Kasper Lehikoinen of Finland at the Topsportcentrum Almere here. Later, ninth seed Gurusaidutt defeated Ukraine's Dmytro Zavadsky 21-12, 21-11 in 33 minutes in the third round.

Men's doubles second seeds Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy, due to the withdrawal of local pair of Ruben Jille and Robin Tabeling, reached the second round without raising their racquets.

However, it was the end of the road for P.C. Thulasi who lost to Irish Chloe Magee 19-21, 23-21, 19-21 in an hour and 19 minutes in the women's singles second round.

Then, Scottish pair of Martin Campbell and Patrick Machugh took care of men's doubles eight seeds Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar, winning 21-14, 21-18 in 43 minutes.

Earlier on Wednesday, Jayaram and Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Gurusaidutt won their respective first two matches to enter the third round.

Mumbai's Jayaram first overcame local boy Mark Caljouw 19-21, 21-17, 21-18 in an hour and four minutes before beating German Fabian Roth 21-14, 21-10 in just under half an hour to proceed to the pre-quarterfinals.

Gurusaidutt later easily overcame Belgian Maxime Moreels 21-8, 21-9 in 27 minutes before beating Chinese Taipei's Chun-Wei Chen 21-14, 21-19 in 38 minutes.

But fourth seed B. Sai Praneeth, who defeated Danish Steffen Rasmussen 21-15, 21-11 in 33 minutes in the first round, went down to another Dane, Rasmus Fladberg, 15-21, 21-7, 12-21 in 48 minutes in the second round.

Another Indian who was ousted from the category was 14th seed Anand Pawar, losing to Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin in 34 minutes. The Malaysian beat the Mumbaikar 21-10, 21-15.

Meanwhile, Thulasi had enough steam in her to edge past Dutchwoman Gayle Mahulette in 57 minutes. The Kerala shuttler eventually won 20-22, 21-15, 21-16.

Dutch second seeds Jacco Arends and Selena Piek also took care of Indian mixed doubles pair of Tarun Kona and N. Sikki Reddy, winning 21-16, 21-15 in the opener.

Jwala Gutta-Ashwini Ponnappa have dropped one place to 12th in World Rankings. Saina Nehwal continues to lead the world rankings in singles.

New Delhi: Top Indian doubles shuttlers Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa dropped a spot to be ranked No.12 in the latest women's doubles rankings released by the Badminton World Federation (BWF) on Thursday.

Following their Quarter final loss at World Championship in August, they were first knocked out from the first round of the Japan Open after which they withdrew from the Korea Open as the left-handed Jwala was unwell. This led to the drop.

Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy also slid a place to be at No.20 in men's doubles.

Meanwhile, ace Indian shuttler Saina Nehwal is still ranked world No.1 in women's singles followed by P.V. Sindhu at No.13. 

Indian men's singles shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth, Parupalli Kashyap and H.S. Prannoy also remained static at No.5, 8 and 16, respectively.

World No. 25 Ajay Jayaram thrashed Germany's Fabian Roth 21-14 21-10, ninth seed RMV Gurusaidutt saw off Chinese Taipei's Chun-Wei Chen 21-14 21-19 in the second round.

Almere: Defending champion Ajay Jayaram and Commonwealth bronze medallist RMV Gurusaidutt advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the Dutch Open Grand Prix after notching up straight-game wins in Round 2, here. 

Brimming with confidence after his maiden runners-up finish at the Korea Super Series, world No. 25 Jayaram thrashed Germany's Fabian Roth 21-14 21-10 to set up a match against Kasper Lehikoinen of Finland in men's singles.

Ninth seed Gurusaidutt also saw off Chinese Taipei's Chun-Wei Chen 21-14 21-19 in the second round Wednesday night. He will next take on Dmytro Zavadsky of Ukraine.

However, it was end of the road for fourth seed B Sai Praneeth after he went down fighting to Denmark's Rasmus Fladberg 21-15 7-21 21-12.

In women's singles, P C Thulasi also made a positive start to her campaign as she prevailed over Netherlands's Gayle Mahulette 20-22 21-15 21-16. She will play Ireland's Chloe Magee next.

Defending champion Ajay Jayaram survived a scare before prevailing over Netherlands' Mark Caljouw in the opening round of the Dutch Open Grand Prix in Almere

Defending champion Ajay Jayaram survived a scare before prevailing over Netherlands' Mark Caljouw in the opening round of the Dutch Open Grand Prix in Almere. 

The third seeded Indian recovered after losing the opening game to eke out a 19-21, 21-17, 21-18 win over Mark in a hard fought men's singles contest.

Jayaram, who reached the finals of Korea Open Super Series to jump to World No. 25 spot, will next take on Germany's Fabian Roth.

Among other Indians, a fit-again RMV Gurusaidutt, seeded ninth, spanked Belgium's Maxime Moreels 21-8, 21-9 in the opening round but Anand Pawar suffered a 10-21, 15-21 loss to Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddin of Malaysia. Guru will meet Chinese Taipei's Chun-Wei Chen in the second round. 

Jayaram took time to get into the groove allowing Mark to a race away to 7-0 lead in the opening game. He bounced back with a six-point burst to narrow the gap and eventually caught up with the local player at 15-15. However, Mark moved ahead and managed to earn the bragging rights early on.

In the second game, Jayaram enjoyed a 5-0 lead initially but his opponent came back to level scores at 5-5. After a close contest, the Indian broke off at 9-9 and kept his nose ahead to bounce back. In the decider, Jayaram zoomed ahead from 4-4 and never lost control to eventually seal the game in his favour.

"It was a close opening match, not the best start but I'm happy to pull through. Looking forward to a more solid second round later," Jayaram said.

Ajay Jayaram Eyes Dutch Open Grand Prix

New Delhi: After reaching his maiden Super Series final at Korea Open, Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram will now look to continue his good run at the USD

50,000 Dutch Open Grand Prix, which starts with the qualifiers on Tuesday.

A place in the finals of Korea Open saw him jump to World No. 25 spot and Jayaram, seeded third, will look to put the best foot forward when he opens his campaign against Mark Caljouw of The Netherlands.

Among other Indians, ninth seed RMV Gurusaidutt will take on Belgium's Maxime Moreels, while fourth seed B Sai Praneeth will meet Denmark's Steffen Rasmussen in the opening round of men's singles competition.

Anand Pawar, seeded 14th, will face Iskandar Zulkarnain Zainuddinof Malaysia in another match.

In women's singles, bronze medallist at Uber Cup and Asian Games last year, P C Thulasi will take on a qualifier in the first round.

Mixed doubles pair of Akshay Dewalkar and Prajakta Sawant will fight it out with Swede combo of Nico Ruponen and Amanda Hogstrom, while Kona Tarun and N Sikki Reddy will be up against Netherlands's Jacco Arends and Selena Piek.

RMV Gurusaidutt Hopes to Regain Top-25 Ranking After Returning From Injury

New Delhi: A series of injuries might have derailed his plans but a fit-again RMV Gurusaidutt is putting in the hard yards to earn his place at the top and is aiming to regain his position in the world top-25 by year end. 

"I've been injured on and off. I had a quadricep strain after Vietnam Open and there has been a long time issue with plantar fasciitis and Achilles tendinitis in my right foot. Each injury took atleast two weeks," Gurusaidutt, who had achieved the highest career-ranking of World No. 19 in 2013, said.

"Though they were not major but took time to recover. And because of the small niggles, I'm not able to continue my training. My back was also giving some problem. But now I look better," added the 25-year-old, who clinched a bronze at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year.

Asked about his plans now, Guru said: "I am playing a challenger and a Grand Prix in Bulgaria and the Dutch Open. I have also entered for Bitburger and Bahrain.

"My first aim is to get into top-30 before Hong Kong and the Macau Open. By the year end, top 25 would be good with the way I'm going. For now, it's important to take one tournament at a time," said the Hyderabadi.

Young shuttler B Sai Praneeth too had fitness issues but now he is ready to put his best foot forward in the upcoming tournaments.

"I am playing more challengers to just get some confidence back. It was actually last year when I had a shin injury. I was not off circuit but was playing on and off. But now I am fit," said Praneeth, who won the Lagos International and Sri Lanka International Challenge, besides reaching the semi-finals of the US Open this year.

"I just want to get some results. I will be playing the Dutch Open, French and Bitburger Open. So the next month is going to be hectic. Now I am playing good," added the 23-year-old, who is remembered for stunning former world and Olympic champion Taufik Hidayat in his farewell match.

Asked about his targets, Praneeth said: "I have kept many targets many times but something or the other is obstructing. So I just want some good results."

With the Indian Badminton League (IBL) finally set to roll out in January next year, Praneeth is excited to be a part of the event.

"IBL makes the game more famous. It is fun not pressure. In January there are no tournaments so players will also come. So it's good for badminton and players," he said.

Lee Hyun Il reigns supreme with class and technique to overcome Ihsan Maulana Mustofa 21-17 22-24 21-8 at SCG Thailand Open

Korea grabbed three titles at the SCG Thailand Open that concluded yesterday, with ageless wonder Lee Hyun Il winning his third Grand Prix Gold this season.

Lee (featured image), who won the Yonex Sunrise Malaysia Masters and Skycity New Zealand Open this year, held off young Indonesian Ihsan Maulana Mustofa, 21-17 22-24 21-8, for the Men’s Singles crown.

Lee’s compatriots Sung Ji Hyun (Women’s Singles) and Choi Solgyu/Eom Hye Won (Mixed Doubles) were the other title winners for Korea. Indonesia and China picked up a title each, through Wahyu Nayaka Arya Pankaryanira/Ade Yusuf (Men’s Doubles) and Huang Dongping/Li Yinhui (Women’s Doubles) respectively.

Lee had a comfortable path to the final, quelling the likes of Firman Abdul Kholik (Indonesia), Ng Ka Long (Hong Kong) and Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka (Indonesia) in straight games. He had an opportunity to win the final too in straight games, but after Mustofa edged past him, Lee cruised through in the third. Earlier, Mustofa had accounted for Lee’s compatriots, top seed Son Wan Ho, in the quarter-finals and Jeon Hyeok Jin in the semifinals.

Sung Ji Hyun had little trouble getting past Singapore teen Liang Xiaoyu (above), 21-11 21-14 in the final. Xiaoyu caused ripples in the tournament with her upset of top seed Ratchanok Intanon (Thailand) in the semi-finals, 22-20 13-21 21-17. Another local hope, Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, fell in the second round to Malaysia’s Tee Jing Yi in three games. OUE Singapore Open champion Sun Yu was outplayed by Sung in their semi-finals, 21-10 21-18.

Pankaryanira and Yusuf (above) were taken the distance by Malaysian veterans Koo Kien Keat/Tan Boon Heong. The Malaysians won a close first game and even had match point in the second, but the Indonesians wriggled past and claimed the title, 20-22 23-21 21-16.

Earlier, Koo and Tan had beaten Singapore Open champions Angga Pratama/Ricky Karanda Suwardi (Indonesia), 21-19 17-21 21-16, in the semi-finals, while Pankaryanira/Yusuf outclassed compatriots Gideon Markus Fernaldi/Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo 21-18 21-16.

Huang Dongping (above)/Li Yinhui brushed aside their first game loss to Korea’s Chang Ye Na/Lee So Hee in the Women’s Doubles final, to prevail 20-22 21-11 21-15. The Koreans had outplayed World Junior champions Chen Qingchen/Jia Yifan (China) in the semi-finals, while Huang/Li proved too good for Korea’s Go Ah Ra/Yoo Hae Won in the other semi-final.

Choi Solgyu/Eom Hye Won (below) clinched the Mixed Doubles title over Indonesia’s Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto, 21-19 17-21 21-16. The Indonesians had accounted for top seeds Ko Sung Hyun/Kim Ha Na in the semi-finals, 21-16 21-16.