India Open: Ashmita delivers upset, Sindhu, Srikanth cruise

Youngster Ashmita Chaliha recorded the first upset of the India Open as she stunned fifth seed Evgeniya Kosetskaya here on Tuesday while top seed PV Sindhu sailed into the women’s singles second round of the badminton tournament.

Reigning world champion Loh Kean Yew was stretched to three games while home favourite Kidambi Srikanth registered a convincing win in the men’s singles first round of the World Tour 500 series event. Loh defeated Canada’s Xiaodong Sheng 16-21, 21-4, 21-13, with Srikanth packing off fellow Indian Siril Verma 21-17, 21-10 to advance to the second round.

Earlier in the day, the unseeded Ashmita took just 31 minutes to get the better of World No.28 Kosetskaya of Russia 24-22, 21-16. “I haven’t played a lot of matches in the last few years. So, I was nervous and that affected me midway through the opening game. But once I won the first game, I was more confident. I was relaxed in the second game,” Ashmita said after the match. In another women’s singles contest, Sindhu cruised past compatriot Sri Krishna Priya Kudaravalli 21-5, 21-16.