Viktor Axelsen became the sole survivor among the top players as Lin Dan, Chen Long, Son Wan Ho and Lee Chong Wei were eliminated in the first round.
Sibu: India’s Sai Praneeth and the women’s doubles duo of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the $120,000 Malaysia Masters Grand Prix Gold badminton tournament on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_3977329” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]![Viktor Axelsen will take on Olympic champion Chen Long. AP]()
File image of Viktor Axelsen. AP[/caption] Praneeth got the better of Thailand’s Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-13, 21-13 in 44 minutes in the first round. Ashwini-Sikki took only 25 minutes to ease past Germany’s Johanna Goliszewski and Lara Kaepplein 21-15, 21-12. In the men’s singles category, Danish reigning World Champion Viktor Axelsen became the sole survivor among the top players as China’s Lin Dan, Chen Long, South Korea’s Son Wan Ho and Malaysian veteran Lee Chong Wei were eliminated in the first round.
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