Malaysia Open: Sindhu, Kashyap win; Saina loses

KUALA LUMPUR: PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal delivered contrasting performances in the Malaysia Open women’s singles first round here on Wednesday as the former progressed while the latter bowed out after losing her opener.

In the Super 750 tournament, Sindhu outwitted Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand 21-13, 2117, but Saina went down 11-21, 17-21 to American Iris Wang. Meanwhile, in men’s singles first round, Parupalli Kashyap made a positive return from injury as he prevailed 21-12, 21-17 over Korea’s Heo Kwang Hee.

B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, who will lead India’s mixed doubles charge at the Birmingham

Commonwealth Games, could not get past the Dutch combination of Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek in their opener. The duo lost 1521, 21-19, 17-21. The match between Sindhu and Chochuwong was played at a good pace, with the Indian dictating terms with better court coverage. After earning a four-point (11-7) cushion at the interval, Sindhu extended her lead to 16-11. The Indian then clinched seven game points and converted on the first attempt with a smash.

In the second game, the Thai player moved to 16-10 after holding a three-point (11-8) advantage at the break. But, the Indian scripted a phenomenal recovery that began with a five-point burst. After levelling the score at 17-17, Sindhu grabbed three match points and sealed the contest comfortably.