PV Sindhu advances to second round of Singapore Open with easy win

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu eased into the second round of the Singapore Open Super 750 tournament with a straight-game victory over Canada's Wen Yu Zhang here on Tuesday. Sindhu dispatched Zhang 21-14, 21-9 in just 31 minutes. A tough second round awaits Sindhu as she will take on Tokyo Olympics gold-winner and current world No.5, China's Chen Yu Fei, next.

However, it was a disappointing day for the rest of the Indian contingent, with Malvika Bansod, Anmol Kharb, Priyanshu Rajawat, and Kiran George all crashing out after respective opening-round losses. Malvika Bansod and Priyanshu Rajawat both let slip a one-game lead. Malvika lost 21-14, 18-21, 11-21 to Thailand's eighth seed Supanida Katethong, while Priyanshu fell 21-14, 10-21, 14-21 to seventh-seeded Japanese shuttler Kodai Naraoka in a match that lasted over an hour.

Anmol Kharb was outclassed by Chen. The Indian showed grit in the second game before going down 11-21, 22-24. George, who reached the India Open quarterfinal earlier this year, was defeated by China's Weng Hong Yang 19-21, 17-21, while R. Santhosh Ramraj lost his men's singles opener 14-21, 8-21 to South Korea's Kim Ga Eun.

In mixed doubles, the Indian pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto were beaten 18-21, 13-21 by China's Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi. Ashith Surya and Amrutha Parmuthesh also bowed out, losing 11-21, 17-21 to Japan's Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara.