Singapore Open Super 750: Priyanshu stuns world No 15; Sindhu, Prannoy, Lakshya go down fighting

Priyanshu Rajawat produced yet another impressive performance against one of the top 15 players in the world when he defeated world No 15 Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in the first round at Singapore Open on Tuesday.

Rajawat, who had beaten Kenta Nishimoto (then world No 12) at the Orleans Masters on his way to a title there, defeated his compatriot Tsueyama 21-12, 21-15.

Earlier, Srikanth Kidambi made it to the round of 16 at the Super 750 event, while India’s top-ranked singles shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy saw their campaigns end in the opening round in Singapore.

Srikanth came through in straight games defeating Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-15, 21-19.

Also progressing through, in men’s doubles, are MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila who moved into the second round with a 21-16, 21-15 win over the French pair of Lucas Corvee and Ronan Labar

But there was disappointment elsewhere on a tough day for the Indian contingent.

Defending champion in Singapore, Sindhu went out in the first-round of a tournament for the second straight week, as she lost to world No 1 Akane Yamaguchi in a three-game battle, 18-21 21-19 21-17. Prannoy too didn’t have the luck of the draw in his favour as the world No 8 lost...

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