Sai Praneeth makes winning start in Nationals

PUNE: Former World Championship bronze medalist B Sai Praneeth eased past Pruthvi Roy K 21-13 21-19 to move into the men’s singles second round of the 84th Senior Nationals here on Friday. Maharashtra’s 10th-seeded Harshil Dani had to sweat hard before beating Kiran Kumar 16-21 21-17 21-12 in the first round. Having won the first game, Kiran had a 11-7 lead in the second to put Harshil under pressure. Harshil put all his experience to use and focussed on speed and accuracy to make it 13-13 and then went on to win the next five points in a row to pocket the game. There was no turning back for him as Harshil didn’t allow his opponent to pose a threat to his victory and sealed the issue with a 21-12 win in the third game. In the women’s singles, Ashmita defeated Gowrikrishna TR 21-9, 21-12 while Prerana Alvekar prevailed over Pinky Karki 21-6, 20-22, 21-14. Malvika Bansod defeated Jananika R 21-16, 21-11. In the men’s singles’, Arya Bhivpathaki started his campaign on a winning note. He defeated Riku Khape 24-22, 21-11.