<p>Parupalli Kashyap was the lone Indian winner on the day when the Olympic Games badminton competitions got underway at the Wembley Arena on Friday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Kashyap defeated Yuhan Tan of Belgium 21-14, 21-12 in 38 minutes to make a head start in Group D, which also features tenth seed Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam. <br />Kashyap never gave Tan a chance, firmly controlling the proceedings to make a positive start. <br /><br />“I’ve played him twice this year so I was ready for his game. I wanted to open up -- it’s my first match so I was a bit nervous initially,” added the Indian. <br />The next match will be crucial for Kashyap, with only the 16 group winners progressing to the pre-quarters. <br /><br />The other Indians in action on the first day made stuttering starts but they are not out of the race, with the new group format giving more chances to the shuttlers. <br />Jwala Gutta and Valiyaveetil Diju bowed to Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia 16-21, 12-21 in their mixed doubles opener. They will next play the Danish pair of Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhn. <br /><br />Later in the evening, Jwala, partnering Ashwini Ponnappa in the women’s doubles lost to fourth seeds Fuji Mizuki and Reika Kakiiwa of Japan 16-21, 18-21. <br />The Japanese were always in control, leaving Jwala and Ashwini to do the catch-up job. They fought hard in the second game but the Japanese duo proved too strong in the end. <br /><br />The Indians have two more matches left in the four-team Group B -- against Cheng Wen Hsing and Chien Yu Chin of Chinese Taipei on Monday followed by Sari Shinta Mulia and Yao Li of Singapore on Tuesday.<br /><br />Jwala wasn’t too pleased that she had to play two matches on the day, thanks to schedule change. “It is pretty shocking. This is such a big event, this is the Olympic Games,” she said. <br /><br />Jwala and Diju were defensive in their ways in the first match, and that allowed the Indonesian pair to take control. They will now have to step it up against their Danish rivals on <br /><br />“I was pretty prepared but things didn't go to plan. But you know it's the first day and the first match. I just need to focus on the next match now,” said Jwala, ruing their defensive approach in the match.</p>
<p>Parupalli Kashyap was the lone Indian winner on the day when the Olympic Games badminton competitions got underway at the Wembley Arena on Friday. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Kashyap defeated Yuhan Tan of Belgium 21-14, 21-12 in 38 minutes to make a head start in Group D, which also features tenth seed Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam. <br />Kashyap never gave Tan a chance, firmly controlling the proceedings to make a positive start. <br /><br />“I’ve played him twice this year so I was ready for his game. I wanted to open up -- it’s my first match so I was a bit nervous initially,” added the Indian. <br />The next match will be crucial for Kashyap, with only the 16 group winners progressing to the pre-quarters. <br /><br />The other Indians in action on the first day made stuttering starts but they are not out of the race, with the new group format giving more chances to the shuttlers. <br />Jwala Gutta and Valiyaveetil Diju bowed to Tontowi Ahmad and Liliyana Natsir of Indonesia 16-21, 12-21 in their mixed doubles opener. They will next play the Danish pair of Thomas Laybourn and Kamilla Rytter Juhn. <br /><br />Later in the evening, Jwala, partnering Ashwini Ponnappa in the women’s doubles lost to fourth seeds Fuji Mizuki and Reika Kakiiwa of Japan 16-21, 18-21. <br />The Japanese were always in control, leaving Jwala and Ashwini to do the catch-up job. They fought hard in the second game but the Japanese duo proved too strong in the end. <br /><br />The Indians have two more matches left in the four-team Group B -- against Cheng Wen Hsing and Chien Yu Chin of Chinese Taipei on Monday followed by Sari Shinta Mulia and Yao Li of Singapore on Tuesday.<br /><br />Jwala wasn’t too pleased that she had to play two matches on the day, thanks to schedule change. “It is pretty shocking. This is such a big event, this is the Olympic Games,” she said. <br /><br />Jwala and Diju were defensive in their ways in the first match, and that allowed the Indonesian pair to take control. They will now have to step it up against their Danish rivals on <br /><br />“I was pretty prepared but things didn't go to plan. But you know it's the first day and the first match. I just need to focus on the next match now,” said Jwala, ruing their defensive approach in the match.</p>
