Syed Modi International: Defending champions Pranaav Jerry Chopra-N Sikki Reddy crash out, Saina Nehwal beats Kate Foo Kune to advance

Lucknow: Defending champions Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy crashed out in the mixed doubles opening round but Saina Nehwal and Parupalli Kashyap notched up easy wins to make a positive start at the Syed Modi World Tour Super 300 on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_5048031” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Indian badminton ace Saina Nehwal. AFP[/caption] Top seeds Pranaav and Sikki lost 14-21, 11-21 to China’s Ren Xiangyu and Zhou Chaomin in just 31 minutes. Second-seeded Saina, who had won the Lucknow tournament thrice in the past, thrashed Mauritius’ Kate Foo Kune 21-10 21-10 in the women’s singles, while former Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap disposed of Thailand’s Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-14, 21-12 in a one-sided men’s singles match. London Olympics bronze medallist Saina will face compatriot Amolika Singh Sisodiya next, while Kashyap will meet Indonesia’s Firman Abdul Kholik. Former Singapore Open champion B Sai Praneeth also crossed the men’s singles opening hurdle, beating Russia’s Sergey Sirant 21-12, 21-10. He will square off against Shesar Hiren Rhustavito of Indonesia. Subhankar Dey, who had claimed his maiden title at SaarLorLux Open, beat Sweden’s Felix Burestedt 21-15, 21-13 to set up a clash with Lu Guangzu of China. Former national champion Rituparna Das, seeded eighth, saw off Russia’s Natalia Perminvova 21-19, 18-21, 21-10 and will face compatriot Shruti Mundada in the women’s singles. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, seeded sixth, also notched up a 21-10, 21-10 win over compatriots Krishna Prasad Garaga and Rutaparna Panda in the mixed doubles opening round. Among others, Prashi Joshi, Saili Rane, Riya Mookerjee, Pardeshi Shreyanshi, Reshma Karthik and Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka also made it to the women’s singles second round.