All five Indians out in 1st qualifying round

CHENNAI: India had a forgettable day at the office as five players from the host nation bowed out in the WTA Chennai Open 250 women’s singles first qualifying round at the SDAT Stadium in Nungambakkam here on Saturday.

While the 16-year-old wildcard Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar went down 4-6, 1-6 to top seed Yuki Naito of Japan, Sai Samhitha lost 1-6, 0-6 to the second-seeded Nao Hibino, also from Japan. Three others Indians in the fray – Riya Bhatia, Sowjanya Bavisetti and Rutuja Bhosale – also crashed out in straight sets. As a result, India will have just two representatives – Ankita Raina and Karman Kaur Thandi – in the singles main draw.

Meanwhile, Peangtarn Plipuech, Mariia Tkacheva and Olivia Tjandramulia defeated their respective higher-seeded opponents to make it to the second round of qualifying. In the longest match of the day which lasted two hours and 40 minutes, third seed Lina Glushko got the better of Maria Timofeeva 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(3).

RESULTS: Qualifying: First round: Yuki Naito bt Lakshmi Prabha Arunkumar 6-4, 6-1; Nao Hibino bt Sai Samhitha 6-1, 6-0; Lina Glushko bt Maria Timofeeva 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(3); Isabella Shinikova bt Ekaterina Yashina 6-2, 6-2; Peangtarn Plipuech bt Lizette Cabrera 4-6, 7-5, 6-4; Justina Mikulskyte bt Riya Bhatia 6-4, 6-0; Jana Fett bt Kaylah McPhee 7-5, 6-4; Daniela Vismane beats Sofya Lansere 4-6, 7-5, 6-3; Mariia Tkacheva bt Carole Monnet 6-2, 1-6, 6-0; Olivia Tjandramulia bt Ekaterina Kazionova 6-3, 6-1; Kyoka Okamura bt Sowjanya Bavisetti 6-4, 6-0; En-shuo Liang bt Rutuja Bhosale 6-3, 6-2