BWF Korea Open 2019: Parupalli Kashyap progresses to pre-quarters as PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and B Sai Praneeth crash out

Incheon: Parupalli Kashyap was the lone Indian to survive in the singles event after star shuttlers PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal and B Sai Praneeth all made first round exits at the Korea Open badminton tournament on Wednesday. Kashyap registered a comfortable 21-16 21-16 over Lu Chia Hung of Chinese Taipei in a men’s singles match that lasted 42 minutes. [caption id=“attachment_6390611” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of PV Sindhu. AFP[/caption] The first round casualties for Indian included World Champion Sindhu, who bowed out of the tournament after going down 7-21 24-22 15-21 at the hands of USA’s Beiwen Zhang, Sai Praneeth and Saina — both retired hurt in their respective first round matches. World Championships bronze-medallist Sai Praneeth was trailing 9-21 7-11 when he conceded the match to fifth-seeded Anders Antonsen of Denmark due to an ankle injury. London Olympic bronze medallist Saina was trailing 21-19, 18-21 and 1-8 against South Korea’s Kim Ga Eun when she was forced to retire. Saina had a 2-0 head-to-head record against Eun in their previous matches. Saina has had a tough year owing to injuries. She won the Indonesia Open at the beginning of the season but has struggled since then. At the China Open Super 1000 event last week, she made a first-round exit. Sindhu also seems to be facing a rough patch after the high of winning the World Championships. The Olympic silver-medallist was knocked out of the China Open by Thailand’s Pornpawee Chochuwong in the second round last week. Interestingly, the 26-year-old former winner here had defeated Zhang en route her World Championships gold at Basel. The Chinese-born American prevailed over the Indian twice last year at the India Open and Denmark Open.