Saina Nehwal defeated Indonesia's Fitriani Fitriani while PV Sindhu beat another Indonesian Maria Febe Kusumastuti to enter the second round of Asian Badminton Championship

Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu won their respective women's singles matches to make a resounding start to their campaign at the Badminton Asia Championship here on Wednesday.

Fifth seed Saina disposed off Indonesia's Fitriani Fitriani 21-16, 21-17, while Sindhu brushed aside another Indonesian Maria Febe Kusumastuti 21-10, 21-13 in a half an hour contest in the opening round here.

In the next round, World No. 8 Saina will face the winner of the match between Indonesia's Lindaweni Fanetri and Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol, while ranked 10th Sindhu will meet eighth seed Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei.

However, it was a bad day at office for other Indians in the fray here, the last event before the Olympic qualification deadline.

While Korean pair of Chang Ye Na and Lee So Hee defeated India's Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa 21-15 21-11 in women's doubles, men's doubles combo of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy suffered a 15-21 13-21 loss to fifth seeded Japanese pair of Hiroyuki Endo and Kenichi Hayakawa.

Another men's doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar also faced defeat, losing 19-21 17-21 to Or Chin Chung and Tang Chun Man of Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Kidambi Srikanth failed to cross the first round hurdle in the men's singles event after being stunned by unseeded Korean shuttler Lee Dong Keun today.

Eight seeded Indian conceded one-game advantage to go down 21-13 12-21 19-21 to his Korean rival in a contest that lasted an hour and 15 minutes.

PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy Lose at China Masters, India's Campaign Ends

Changzhou: India's campaign at the China Masters Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament ended as PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy crashed out of the women's and men's singles after suffering straight-game defeats in their respective quarter-final matches here on Friday. 

It was also curtains for star pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, who went down to top seeded Chinese combination of Luo Ying and Luo Yu 11-21 14-21 in a 39-minute women's doubles quarterfinal.

Fourth seeded Sindhu was stunned 21-17 21-19 by Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk in a match that lasted 38 minutes while Prannoy, seeded seventh, lost 10-21 15-21 to top seed Chen Long in a contest that lasted 46 minutes.

Sindhu conceded advantage thrice in the opening game. Despite managing to surge ahead three times, the Indian failed to win the first game. She first opened up a 4-1 lead but the Thai girl caught her at 4-4. Sindhu once again moved ahead to 7-4 and then to 13-10 but on both occasions she could not retain the upper hand.

At 16-16, Porntip bagged three straight points to make it 19-16 before Sindhu pulled one point back, but the Thai wrapped up the opening game 21-17 in the end.

In the second game, Sindhu yet again took the lead and continued to extend it to comfortably sit on 11-8 at the interval.

But Porntip kept on breathing down Sindhu's neck and came from behind to tie the game at 13-13 before taking a two-point lead. Thereafter, it was a closely-fought battle for some time and the two went on like that till 19-19.

The Thai girl kept her nerves to reel off two significant points to seal the game and the match in her favour.

Earlier, Prannoy lost his match to Long, which was his third defeat to the two-time World Champion and two-time All England champion.

Prannoy, who had given a scare to Chen during their last encounter in Singapore Super Series early this month, failed to put up a fight today as, after an initial neck-and-neck battle, Chen moved ahead.

In the opening game, Chen broke off from 6-6 to never look back, while in the second game, Prannoy had opened up a 6-0 lead but the Chinese reduced it to 6-9 and then reeled off eight straight points to surge ahead.

The Chinese kept moving ahead and eventually sealed the issue without much ado.

PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy Enter Quarters of China Masters

Ace India shuttlers H S Prannoy and PV Sindhu entered quarters of their respective men's and women's singles matches after posting comfortable straight-game wins at the China Masters Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament here today.

India's star women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa also made the last eight stage with an easy win, but it was curtains for men's doubles duo of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar.

Prannoy, seeded seventh, got the better of Malaysia's Daren Liew 21-10 21-15 in a contest that lasted 34 minutes and will next take on top seed Chen Long.

PV Sindhu pitted against against Chinese Taipei's Chien Hui Yu, winning 21-9 21-17 in just 33 minutes.

She will now face Porntip Buranaprasertsuk of Thailand in the quaterfinals.

Jwala and Ponnappa thrashed Chinese Taipei pair of Hsieh Pei Chen and Wu Ti Jung 21-12 21-12 in 28 minutes to set up a clash with top seeded Chinese duo of Luo Ying and Luo Yu.

However, Pranaav and Akshay bowed out of the tournament after going down to seventh seeded Chinese combination of Wang Yilyu and Zhang Wen 17-21 12-21 in 36 minutes in the second round of men's doubles.

Sony Dwi Kuncoro beat Son Wan-Ho 21-16, 13-21, 21-14 while Ratchanok Intanon defeated defending champion Sun Yu of China 18-21, 21-11, 21-14 in the respective finals of the Singapore Open Superseries

Singapore: Indonesia's Sony Dwi Kuncoro beat Korean Son Wan-Ho to win the men's singles Singapore Open Superseries on Sunday as Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon triumphed in the women's singles category, becoming the world's top female shuttler in the process. (Ratchanok Intanon, Kento Momota Triumph at India Open Superseries)

The unfancied Kuncoro, who stunned two-time Olympic champion Lin Dan in the semi-finals, took the first set 21-16. (Srikanth, Ajay Jayaram Move up in BWF Ranking)

But some bad decision making cost the 31-year-old dearly when he succumbed 13-21 in the second set.

Recovering his composure, the 2004 Olympic Games bronze medallist claimed the deciding set 21-14.

Kuncoro, ranked 56th in the world, said he was surprised by his fairytale run.

"It's really unexpected that I won. It's such a big achievement to pass the qualifiers and eventually win this tournament," he said.

"I just enjoyed today's game and was able to play well."

This is Kuncoro's second title in the city-state after winning the tournament in 2010.

In the women's singles, Thai star Ratchanok beat defending champion Sun Yu of China to claim her third successive Superseries win in as many weeks after triumphs in India and Malaysia.

Ratchanok, the 2013 world champion, will displace Spain's Carolina Marin as number one when the weekly world rankings are updated on Thursday.

Despite losing 18-21 in the first set as the lanky Sun Yu put her superior reach to better use, Ratchanok coasted to a 21-11 victory in the second.

She clinched the third set 21-14 as her opponent appeared rattled by several errors and a yellow card shown by the match referee.

"I think I performed better in the first set but I got nervous during the last two," Sun Yu, ranked 14th in the world, told reporters after the match.

Ratchanok, who has now established herself as one of the favourites for Olympic gold, said the win would give her a boost for Rio.

"Now I am more confident to get a gold at the Olympic games," she said.

"I thought that today would not be my day and she was playing well. My body was tired from the past few weeks but I just wanted to do my best."

Top-ranked players were scalped early on in the tournament.

On Friday world number ones Chen Long of China and Carolina Marin of Spain crashed out in the quarterfinals, unceremoniously shown the door by young upstarts.

Chen fell to Hong Kong's 21-year-old Angus Ng, while Marin succumbed in three sets to Japan's Akane Yamaguchi.

Lin Dan became the latest casualty on Saturday when he suffered a stunning semi-final defeat at the hands of eventual winner Kuncoro.

Kidambi Srikanth improved a place to reach the 13th spot, while Ajay Jayaram surged three places to the 21st position in latest BWF Rankings

New Delhi: Despite losing in the opening round of the Singapore Super Series Premier, Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and Ajay Jayaram moved up the ladder in the latest BWF World ranking released.

Srikanth improved a place to reach the 13th spot, while Jayaram surged three places to the 21st position but Swiss Open winner H S Prannoy slipped a place to 23rd.

Commonwealth Games champion P Kashyap, who skipped the Malaysia Open because of injury, slipped two places to be at the 20th spot.

Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu, meanwhile, maintained their positions at World No. eight and World No. 10, respectively in the women's singles ranking.

Indian men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy sunk a place to at 20th position, while Commonwealth Games silver medallist women's doubles duo of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa remained at 15th spot.

Singapore Open Superseries:PV Sindhu conceded a one-game advantage to go down 21-11, 14-21, 14-21 to China's He Bingjiao

Singapore: India's campaign at the Singapore Open Super Series ended after P V Sindhu as well as men's and mixed doubles pairs lost their respective second round matches to crash out of the tournament. 

Sindhu conceded a one-game advantage to go down 21-11, 14-21, 14-21 to China's He Bingjiao in a hard-fought women's singles match that lasted 55 minutes.

It was also curtains for the men's doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Akshay Dewalkar and mixed doubles duo of Pranaav and N Sikki Reddy.

After going down 12-21, 12-21 along with partner Akshay to second seeded Indonesian combo of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan in just 23 minutes, Pranaav joined Sikki in the mixed doubles but faced defeat at the hands of fourth seeds Chinese Xu Chen and Ma Jin 15-21, 19-21 in a 33-minute contest.

Sindhu got off to a good start, winning the opening game rather comfortably. Although it was a neck-and-neck battle till 10-10, the Indian girl simply surged ahead after the break and sealed it 21-11.

Continuing the momentum, Sindhu was quick to take a 4-0 lead in the second game as well but the Chinese made a strong come back to first catch up with the Indian at 5-5 and then open up a narrow 7-6 lead.

Bingjiao then bagged eight points on the trot to march ahead to 15-6, from where she just kept extending the lead to take the match to the decider.

The third game saw Sindhu once again taking a slight edge but the Chinese soon caught up with her and it was a closely fought game till 14-14.

Breaking away from tied 14-14, there was no looking back for Bingjiao, who then won seven straight points to wrap up the game and match in style.

Singapore Open Super Series: PV Sindhu Wins Tough Match to Enter Second Round

Singapore: PV Sindhu entered the second round in women's singles while Pranaav Jerry Chopra advanced to the next stage alongwith his respective partners in the men's and mixed doubles events at the Singapore Super Series here on Wednesday. 

Sindhu saw off Thailand's Busanan Ongbumrungphan 9-21, 21-17, 21-11 in a 54-minute clash, while national champions Pranaav and Akshay Dewalkar defeated China's Liu Cheng and Lu Kai 21-17 16-21 22-20 in a men's doubles match.

Pranaav alongwith his mixed doubles partner N Sikki Reddy also reached the second round after prevailing 21-15 21-17 over Indonesian pair of Irfan Fadhilah and Weni Anggraini.

They will next take on fourth seeded Chinese combo of Xu Chen and Ma Jin.

Malaysia Open champion, Sindhu will face China's He Bingjiao, while National champions, Pranaav and Akshay will meet second seeds Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.

However, it turned out to be a disastrous day for the men's singles shuttler -- Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram -- as all of them bowed out in the opening round, which will affect their world ranking and chances of qualifying for the Rio Olympics. This tournament is the last Super Series event before the May 3 deadline.

World No 22 Prannoy, who had lost to the World No 1 and top seed Chen Long at the 2014 India Open, produced some quality badminton but his efforts were not enough against the two-time World and All England Champion, who won 21-18, 18-21, 19-21 in a hard-fought match that lasted an hour and 11 minutes.

The Indian grabbed the opening game and also led 8-4 and 18-16 in the second and third games but the experienced Chinese made sure he had the last laugh. Prannoy had reached the quarterfinals last year and is likely to lose some ranking points.

Up against World No. 28 Hsu Jen Hao, Srikanth, who had a 2-0 head-to-head record against the Chinese Taipei shuttler, squandered an opening game advantage and a 9-7 lead in the second game to go down 21-11, 18-21, 18-21. It was his third first-round exit after the India Open and the Malaysia Open.

For Jayaram, it turned out to be a repeat of the India Open as he went down 17-21, 16-21 to the experienced Marc Zwiebler. It was his fifth defeat against the German in six meetings.

India's women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, who had earned India a bronze at the 2011 World Championship, continued their dismal run as they too crashed out in the opening round after a 18-21, 16-21 loss to South Korean combo of Go Ah Ra and Yoo Hae Won.

Indonesia's Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth and India's Sikki Reddy also lost 7-21, 6-21 to Japanese pair of Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito in another women's doubles match.

Singapore Super Series: Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy And Ajay Jayaram Lose In First Round

Singapore: India's mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy reached the second round but it was curtains for men's singles shuttlers at the Singapore Super Series here on Wednesday.

Runners-up at the Senior National Championship last week, Pranaav and Sikki prevailed 21-15 21-17 over Indonesian pair of Irfan Fadhilah and Weni Anggraini. They will next take on fourth seeded Chinese combo of Xu Chen and Ma Jin.

However, it turned out to be a disastrous day for the men's singles shuttler -- Kidambi Srikanth, H S Prannoy and Ajay Jayaram -- as all of them bowed out in the opening round, which will affect their World ranking and chances of qualifying for the Rio Olympics.

World No. 22 Prannoy, who had lost to the World No. 1 and top seed Chen Long in 2014 India Open, produced some quality badminton but his efforts were not enough against the two-time World and All England Champion, who won 21-18 18-21 19-21 in a hard-fought match that lasted an hour and 11 minutes.

The Indian grabbed the opening game and also led 8-4 and 18-16 in the second and third games but the experienced Chinese made sure he had the last laugh.

Prannoy had reached the quarterfinals last year and is likely to lose some ranking points.

Up against World No. 28 Hsu Jen Hao, Srikanth, who had a 2-0 head-to-head record against the Chinese Taipei shuttler, squandered an opening game advantage and a 9-7 lead in the second game to go down 21-11 18-21 18-21. It was his third first round exit after India Open and Malaysia Open.

For Jayaram, it turned out to be a repeat of the India Open as he went down 17-21 16-21 to the experienced Marc Zwiebler. It was his fifth defeat against the German in 6 meetings.

India's women's doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa, who had earned India a bronze in the 2011 World Championship, continued their dismal run as they too crashed out in the opening round after a 18-21 16-21 loss to Korean combo of Go Ah Ra and Yoo Hae Won.

Indonesia's Pia Zebadiah Bernadeth and India's Sikki Reddy also lost 7-21 6-21 to Japanese pair of Shizuka Matsuo and Mami Naito in another women's doubles match.

Lee Chong Wei and Chen Long Set for Malaysian Open Showdown

Kuala Lumpur: Lee Chong Wei of Malaysia stormed through to the men's final of the Malaysian Open, after defeating Denmark's Jan O Jorgensen in a semifinal match on Saturday. 

The world number four shuttler, who beat Jorgensen 21-7, 21-14, will face off against world number one Chen Long from China in Sunday's final.

Lee, who suffered early exits in the All England Championships and India Open in March, was back in fine form against Jorgensen, using his signature overhead smashes and nifty netplay to wrap up the encounter in 35 minutes.

"I am looking forward to winning my 11th (Malaysian Open) title here. My confidence and court feeling gets better with each game, and I am now only one more game away from the title," said Lee.

"I have to be patient against him (Chen Long) and can't be constantly on the attack. He is a tall player and has good court coverage, but I will have the backing of home support to hopefully see me over the finish line."

Lee had missed last year's edition because of a suspension after testing positive for dexamethasone, a banned anti-inflammatory, at the world championships in Copenhagen in 2014.

But in April last year the Badminton World Federation said Lee had "accidentally" ingested the banned substance and handed him an eight-month backdated ban, which effectively cleared him to resume his career.

Meanwhile, defending champion Chen Long from China admitted he was fortunate in his semi-final encounter against Indonesia's rising star Jonatan Christie, after defeating the 18-year-old, 8-21, 21-19, 21-14.

"I am lucky to have made the final. If he didn't commit the crucial mistakes in the second game, it would have been a different story. The final will be the home crowd against me, but I am hoping they appreciate my game when I play him (Lee Chong Wei) in the final," said Chen.

Indian Shuttler Rankings: Saina Nehwal lost two places to sink to World No. 8 in the BWF world rankings, Kidmabi Srikanth dropped four spots to be placed at the 14th spot.

Failure to defend their individual titles at the India Open Super Series last week cost Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth dearly as the top Indian shuttlers slipped down the order in the latest BWF World ranking on Thursday. 

Saina, who had to deal with a nagging ankle injury, lost two places to sink to World No. 8 in women's singles after losing in the semifinals of India Open, while Srikanth dropped four spots to be placed at the 14th spot in men's singles.

Srikanth suffered a narrow defeat against China's Tian Houwei in the opening round here to lose a lot of ranking points. The Indian is likely to slip further when the next ranking list is out after failing to cross the opening hurdle at the ongoing Malaysia Super Series Premier.

Swiss Open champion, H S Prannoy slumped three places to World No. 22 after losing his opening round match against Thailand's Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk in New Delhi.

Ajay Jayaram, who also lost in the opening round, was static at World No. 24.

Commonwealth Games champion P Kashyap, whose Rio Olympic qualification dream was crushed by a series of injuries since last year, sunk to World No. 18.

However, P V Sindhu, who had reached the quarterfinals last week, improved a place to be back in the top 10 of women's singles.

In men's doubles, Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy remained at No. 19, while Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa too retained their World No. 15 position in women's doubles.

Japan Ace Kento Momota Faces Rio Chop Over Casino Visits

Tokyo: Olympic medal contender Kento Momota is in danger of being kicked off Japan's badminton team for Rio after admitting to gambling at an illegal casino, his club said Thursday.

The 21-year-old sensation, who last August became the first Japanese man to win a world championship medal with a bronze in Jakarta, and team-mate Kenichi Tago could now face a ban from this summer's Olympics if found guilty by the country's ruling body.

The two players arrived at Tokyo's Narita airport early on Thursday after competing in a tournament in Malaysia, but refused to answer questions.

Japanese officials are set to hold an emergency board meeting this weekend to decide what action to take after the pair's team, NTT East Japan, said it had confirmed that the players placed bets at an underground casino which was raided by police last year.

Nippon Badminton Association Secretary General Kinji Zeniya hinted that the organisation would adopt a zero-tolerance policy, saying it would be "probably impossible" for the players to represent Japan in Rio if the allegations were confirmed.

"They have a serious responsibility to society," he told local media, before bursting into tears. "We must deal with this case strictly."

Zeniya added: "I'm shocked by this. I would like to deeply apologise to all the Japanese people and fans of badminton. At this stage we cannot endorse these players (for Rio) and it looks as if there will be a harsh punishment."

The Nippon Badminton Association said that Momota, who recently rose to number two in the world rankings, had pulled out of his defence of the Singapore Open next week over the furore, adding that the player was likely to know his fate in the coming days.

- Swift condemnation -

"Momota won't play in Singapore," chief spokesman Norio Noto told AFP. "At this stage we do not have all the facts but the executive board will meet to deliberate on his case. Once it does, it shouldn't take that long to come to a decision."

Government ministers were swift to condemn Momota, who spearheaded Japan's first-ever Thomas Cup title in 2014.

"Make no mistake about it, there are more important things in sport than winning medals," said Hiroshi Hase, minister for Education, Culture and Sport.

Japan's Olympic Minister Toshiaki Endo added: "It's a betrayal of the Olympic spirit. If proven, then 100 percent he has no right to represent Japan."

According to Japan's Sankei newspaper, an unidentified casino official claimed Momota and Tago -- who won a record sixth national title in 2013 but was axed from the Japanese team last year for disciplinary breaches -- "frequently" visited the parlour.

Gambling is largely illegal in Japan and the incident comes after a betting scandal that sent shockwaves through the country's most popular sport, baseball, just as it is bidding for inclusion in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A ban for Momota would be a severe blow to Japan's Olympic hopes after he backed up his strong showing at the world championships by becoming the first Japanese player to win the Super Series Masters Finals in Dubai last December.

People found guilty of gambling in Japan can face jail terms of up to five years.

Publicly operated gambling such as horse racing and "keirin" bicycle racing, however, is not illegal.

Saina Nehwal brushed aside Bae Yeon Ju, while Sindhu edged out Korea's Sung Ji Hyun in prequarterfinals of Malaysia Open.

Shah Alam: Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and P V Sindhu continued their winning run at the Malaysia Open, notching up contrasting victories to reach the quarterfinals of the women's singles competition at the $550,000 Super Series Premier tournament in Shah Alam. 

After Sindhu edged out Korea's Sung Ji Hyun, seeded seventh, 22-20, 21-17 in a 47-minute clash, Saina brushed aside another Korean Bae Yeon Ju 21-10, 21-16 in a match that lasted a little over half an hour.

The two-time bronze medallist at World Championship, Sindhu had lost to Sung Ji at Hyderabad during the Asian badminton Championship team event but avenged the loss and took her head-to-head record against the Korean to 5-3.

The 20-year-old from Hyderabad will next meet former World Champion and two-time India Open winner Ratchanok Intanon of Thailand, while Saina has set up a meeting with Thailand's Porntip Buranaprasertsuk, who stunned All England champion Japan's Nozomi Okuhara, seeded 8th, 21-12 22-20.

Olympic bronze medallist Saina, seeded third, stamped her authority on the second round clash against Bae as she reached a 11-3 lead at the interval in both the games and didn't give much chance to her opponent to make a comeback.

Saina has now beaten the Korean nine times in 13 meetings.

Sindhu almost blew away a 9-6 and 20-18 lead in the opening game before managing to surpass Sung Ji and earn the bragging rights.

In the second game, she fought back from 6-8 down to finally break off at 15-15 with five straight points, reaching 20-15. The Korean saved two match points before Sindhu sealed off the issue.

Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying stunned Olympic champion Li Xuerui of China, seeded second, 14-21 21-18 21-1 in another second round match. Interestingly, Li had reached the finals at India Open last week.

Among others, World No. 1 Carolina Marin, Chinese duo of Wang Shixian and Wang Yihan also reached the last eight.

In men's singles, India Open champion Japan's Kento Momota gave a walkover to 2010 Commonwealth silver medallist Rajiv Ouseph of England.

Second seed Lee Chong Wei, China's Lin Dan, seeded 4th, Denmark duo of Viktor Axelsen, seeded 6th, and Jan O Jorgensen, fifth seed, also won their respective matches and reached the quarterfinals.

Saina Nehwal, P.V. Sindhu Advance in Malaysia Open; H.S. Prannoy, Kidambi Srikanth Knocked Out

Shah Alam: Saina Nehwal and P.V. Sindhu entered the women's singles second round but it turned out to be a disappointing day for Indian men shuttlers as two of them made an early exit at the Malaysia Open Super Series Premier in Shah Alam on Wednesday. 

After a semifinal finish at the India Open Super Series last week, Saina made a positive start to her campaign at the $550,000 event in Malaysia as she notched up her sixth win over Thailand's Nitchaon Jindapol 21-16, 21-7 in 30 minutes.

The 26-year-old Indian, seeded third, will next meet South Korea's Bae Yeon Ju, who had ended Sindhu's campaign last week in New Delhi.

Sixth seed Sindhu beat He Bingjiao of China 21-16, 21-17 in a 40-minute first round match to avenge her defeat to the same opponent in the 2015 Indonesian Masters and 2016 Swiss Open.

The two-time bronze medallist at World Championships, Sindhu will next take on South Korean Sung Ji Hyun, seeded seventh, who had lost to Saina in India Open last week.

However in men's singles, Rio Olympics hopefuls H.S. Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth failed to cross the opening hurdle.

Srikanth, who failed to defend his title at India Open last week after going down to China's Tian Houwei in the opening round, continued to find the going tough in Super Series events.

His 3-1 record against Boonsak Ponsana accounted for nothing as Srikanth ended with a 21-23, 21-9, 10-21 loss against the Thai shuttler after a 53-minute battle.

Prannoy, who clinched the Swiss Open last month, fought hard before going down 19-21, 20-22 to India Open champion Kento Momota of Japan, seeded third. Prannoy had lost in the opening round in India Open as well.

Injury Layoff Set to End Parupalli Kashyap's Olympic Dream

New Delhi: Still grappling with a knee injury, Commonwealth Games gold medal winning shuttler Parupalli Kashyap's chances of qualifying for the Olympics have all but ended as he has been forced to withdraw from this month's Malaysia Open Super Series Premier and Singapore Open Super Series. 

Going through the worst injury phase of his career, Kashyap had hoped to recover in time to compete in Malaysia and Singapore and give Olympic qualification a shot but now it seems a far cry.

"No tournaments for me the whole month. Actually the injury was bad. I just feel the first diagnosis was not right. The first guy told me that I was going to be okay in two weeks time which was not the case. I was expecting myself to play in two weeks so there is disappointment and irritation," Kashyap told PTI.

Currently ranked World No.17, Kashyap needs to be in top-16 to make the Olympic draw but the injury lay-off is set to cost him valuable ranking points.

"I wouldn't blame anyone because everyone wants me to play and get back quickly. They want me to stay in shape and mentally be ready," he said.

The previous year, Kashyap had lost in the second round of India Open Super series and Malaysia Open Super Series Premier but had reached the semifinals in Singapore.

Asked about future events, Kashyap, who retired hurt midway through the German Open pre-quarterfinals, said: "The current status is that I have to wait another three weeks and then assess how it is. I might play next in May or June."

Once the World No.6, Kashyap had suffered a calf muscle tear in October 2015. He then sustained an abdominal strain and failed to defend his Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold title in Lucknow.

The Hyderabad shuttler also missed the South Asian Games (SAG) and then hoping to qualify for Olympics, he was back on the court at German Open but there was no respite for him.

Meanwhile, Indian pair of Vineeth Manuel and S. Sanjeeth lost to local combo of Darren Isaac Devadass and Jinn Hwa Tan 15-21, 12-21 in the qualifiers of Malaysia Open.

Top shuttlers Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth, P.V. Sindhu, H.S. Prannoy will start their campaign in the main draw at Shah Alam on Wednesday.

Ratchanok Intanon won her second India Open women's singles title while Japan's Kento Momota clinched his fourth Superseries crown

New Delhi: Top Thai shuttler Ratchanok Intanon pocketed her second India Open Superseries title with a straight games victory over Olympic champion Li Xuerui in the the women’s singles final at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi on Sunday evening. 

In a clash between two former champions, it was Ratchanok who emerged victorious with a 21-17, 21-18 scoreline in a matching lasting 42 minutes. It was her fourth win over the former World No.1 Chinese in 11 meetings. Li had won the India Open in 2012.

Japan's Kento Momota also won his inaugural India Open title after seeing off Denmark's Viktor Axelsen 21-15, 21-18 and sprawled on the court after hitting a powerful smash which earned him the title. It was Momota's fourth Superseries title.

Ratchanok, who lost to Saina Nehwal in the final here last year, said: "Li has good skills, she is a very attacking player. I had to prepare well for this match. Idea was not to make mistakes. The shuttle was very fast today, so I played it like a doubles match. My concentration was good. I was more focused. I kept telling myself that it is one more point and I should not commit errors.

"I will have to improve my game. I was okay today. You have to keep improving since all the players in top-8 can beat anybody. From now on, there are three more events left before Olympics qualification. I will just try to give my best, no matter if I become a champion or not at the Rio Games."

After taking his head-to-head record against Axelsen to 6-1, men's singles winner Momota said: "My experience in other Superseries finals helped me. I was able to execute my plans well today. This win will put me in the good frame of mind for the Olympics."

Momota won the BWF Superseries Masters Finals, Indonesia Open and Singapore Open last year.

Three years ago Ratchanok had burst into the international scene when she had reached the finals of the All England Open and won her first Superseries title in New Delhi defeating Germany's Juliane Schenk. She made it a golden year, becoming the youngest singles player ever to win the World Championship.

It was Li whom she had beaten in that epic final. In the last three years, both of them have been part of many battles but it was always the Chinese who had the upper hand. Ratchanok's tryst with injuries - shoulder and leg - also contributed to her three consecutive loses against Li in 2014.

However, Sunday was different. Ratchanok, who had beaten Li at the Asia Championship to break her title drought last year, played with soft hands and her deceptive strokes earned her points.

Cheered by a packed vocal crowd, the Thai girl opened up a big lead early on, reaching 5-1 and kept her nose ahead at 11-9 during the first interval. Li caught up with her rival at 15-15 but Ratchanok once again managed to distance herself and pocketed the opening game when Li hit long.

Things didn't change much in the second game with Ratchanok once again zooming to a 7-1 lead. But the Thai girl erred at the nets a few times before producing a smash from the back court to move into the break at 11-6.

After the break, the fight continued but Ratchanok managed to stay ahead at 17-14. Li committed a lot of errors and hit wide to allow the Thai to make it 19-15. Another net error gave Ratchanok a healthy four match points. The Chinese saved two before Ratchanok closed a long engrossing rally with a smash.

In an all-Japanese women's doubles summit clash, Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi beat Naoko Fukuman and Kurumi Yonao 21-18, 21-18 in 57 minutes while Chinese pair of Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong defeated Indonesian combo of Riky Widianto and Puspita Richi Dili 21-13, 21-16 to win the mixed doubles title.

In the men's doubles, Indonesia's Gideon Markus Fernaldi and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo defeated compatriots Angga Pratama and Ricky Karanda Suwardi 21-17, 21-13 for the title.

Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal went down to reigning Olympic champion Li Xuerui 22-20, 17-21, 21-19 at the India Open semi-finals.

New Delhi: Defending champion Saina Nehwal's title defence lay in tatters after she suffered a narrow loss to Olympic Champion Li Xuerui in the semifinals of the India Open Super Series badminton tournament. 

The 26-year-old Indian lost 20-22, 21-17, 19-21 to Li in an edge-of-the-seat thriller in the women's singles competition, to draw curtains on Indian challenge at the Siri Fort Complex.

In a nail-biting contest, Saina matched up to Li in the fast-paced rallies but she was not consistent in finishing the rallies. Li, on the other hand, blew hot and cold as some of her cross court half smashes caught Saina off-guard.

Saina opened up a 8-5 lead early on and managed to stave off the challenge from Li till 11-9. But the Chinese soon managed to draw parity with two quick points and then turned the tables, reaching 16-13.

Saina roared back to level with a superb drop from the back court before Li found the net. The Chinese hit wide again and both were tied at 18-18. Another miscued smash and Saina was leading 19-18.

What followed was an energy-sapping rally that ended with a return, which Saina didn't even try. But the Indian ensured she has the first shot to take advantage as she reached the game point with a smash that Li could only send to the net.

Li then produced a deceptive slice and with Saina hitting wide and then leaving another shot from Li on the right, it was all over.

In the second game, Saina zoomed to a 7-1 lead with Li committing too many unforced errors. The Chinese also faltered with her slices and drops, and Saina led 11-6 at the interval.

Saina produced a couple of accurate down the line smashes even as Li continued to struggle with her strokes. Then all of a sudden, Li gathered a flurry of points to narrow the gap to 14-17.

Another long rally ensued and Saina reached 20-17 when Li found the net. The Indian then grabbed it with a delectable drop to roar back into the contest.

In the decider, Saina once again marched ahead to a 6-2 lead. Li tried to narrow it down to 7-6 but Saina had her nose ahead 11-7 at the break after she engaged in a parallel game with Li.

After the change of sides, Saina continued to dominate the rallies to reach 15-11. But a couple of bad line judgement helped Li to cut down the margin to 13-15.

Leading 18-16, Saina allowed Li to draw parity when she hit the net twice. A deceptive return was cancelled by a long shot before a line kissing slice gave the advantage to Li, who sealed it when Saina failed to negotiate a return.

In another women's singles match, Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon defeated Bae Yeon Ju of Korea 21-8, 21-11.

Saina Nehwal beat World No. 8 Sung Ji Hyun, while PV Sindhu lost to Bae Yeon Ju at the Indian Open Super Series.

New Delhi: Defending champion Saina Nehwal upstaged Korea's Sung Ji Hyun to reach the semifinals but it was curtains for P V Sindhu in the women's singles of the India Open Super Series in New Delhi.

The Olympic bronze medallist Saina defeated World No. 8 Sung 19-21, 21-14, 21-19 in a women's singles match that lasted for an hour and 23 minutes at the Siri Fort stadium. The Indian will next take on Olympic champion Chinese Li Xuerui, seeded third, who saw off compatriot Wang Shixian 22-20, 12-21, 21-17 in another quarterfinal match.

However, two-time bronze medallist at World Championship Sindhu squandered a one-game lead to go down 21-15, 15-21, 15-21 against another Korean Bae Yeon Ju in another quarterfinals here. This was Sindhu's third loss to the Korean.

In a game of energy-sapping rallies sprinkled with drops and half smashes, it was Saina who emerged victories after Sung committed a series of unforced errors after being tied 17-17 in the decider.

There was hardly any winners scored as Saina too made a lot of unforced errors and wrong line judgements to lose points galore. The Indian's movements at the forecourt on the right side seemed affected by her nagging ankle injury as she failed to retrieve a lot of points in that area.

After the match, Saina said she didn't expect it to be such a tough match as she always had easy outings against Sung.

"She has played really well. I didn't expect her to do so many rallies actually. she was picking up my shots. The last moments were actually very tense. It has always been easy against her. It was never such a long match. Once I think in Denmark I guess we played close. This time it was totally different. But I guess there is lot of pressure also now on me. I am happy with the way I played," she told reporters.

"From quarters it will be tougher. She is in great shape. She won the New Zealand Open also. It was a tough match. I was not getting points on smashes, so it was either on rallies or drops, so I was sticking with it. She has got some very good drop and she is tall as well.

Saina, who has beaten Sung five times in the past six meetings, used her drops early on to catch the Korean at the forecourt. However, unforced errors and a few deceptive returns helped Sung to lead 8-4. The Indian showed her resilience to claw back at 10 before a shot from Sung left her stranded.

After the break, Saina turned the tables to lead 14-12 but soon Sung once again drew parity. The Indian managed to nose ahead to 17-15 but once again Sung fought back and grabbed a 18-17 lead after Saina made a wrong line call and then hit the net.

Another return from the Indian going to net and then her failure to retrieve a shot on her forehand gave Sung a 20-17 lead. Saina saved two but then made a wrong line call to gift the first game to her opponent.

In the second game, Saina led 3-1 when Sung took a medical time out to attend to her right ankle. When the match resumed, Saina continued her good run to lead 6-2. Sung drew level at 6-6 when a low return from Saina went to the net. However, the Indian again surged ahead and entered the break at 11-7.

After the interval, Saina extended the lead to 13-8 and then zoomed to 19-10 with the Korean crumbling. Sung grabbed three points before her another long shot gave Saina a 20-13 lead. The Korean saved one but Saina roared into contest when Sung erred at the net.

In the decider, Sung led 5-2 early on but failed to rein in her unforced errors as Saina soon turned it around at 8-6. The Korean seemed tired as she didn't even try to retrieve some of the shots as Saina reached the break with a 11-7 advantage.

However, after a change of side, Sung reeled off six straight points to grab the lead 13-11. A net error broke the rhythm but Saina again hit wide as Sung lead 14-12. Two wide shots from Sung brought Saina to an even-knell at 17-17.

She grabbed the lead when the Korean erred at the net. A couple of long shots again from Sung took Saina to a 20-19 lead. Sung saved one but Saina sealed it with a midcourt smash and threw up her arms in celebration.

India's PV Sindhu in action against Korea's Bae Yeon Ju in the quarterfinal match of Yonex-Sunrise India Open 2016

© PTI

Sindhu disappoints

In another women's singles quarterfinal, Sindhu dished out a compact game as she lead 11-6 at the break and continued her good run after the break. Eventually, Bae hit the net to give a 20-13 lead to Sindhu. After conceding two points, the Indian sealed it with a smash.

In the second game, Bae opened up an 11-8 lead at the interval and reeled off five straight points to reach 16-8. However, Sindhu slowly reduced the margin to 13-19 but another long shot gave Bae a 20-14 lead. The Indian saved one game point before she hit wide again to help the Korean make a comeback.

After lagging behind 3-5, Sindhu managed to grab the lead at 6-5 with a few stiff smashes and some superb returns. But Bae still managed to have her nose ahead at 11-7 at the interval.

At 7-13, Sindhu changed her racquet but it didn't change her fate much as even though she tried to narrow the gap to 13-16, the Indian made some errors at crucial juncture to fall behind. Soon Bae was leading 20-14 when another Sindhu's smash ended up at the net. The Indian saved one but again hit wide to end her campaign here.

Bae will now take on former All England champion Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon, who beat Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying, eight seeded, 12-21, 21-14, 22-20.