Kashyap, Chetan advance to pre-quarters as Trupti bows out

On a day which saw star attraction Saina Nehwal pulling out because of an ankle injury, the young brigade of Indian badminton produced some good performances to set the tone at the Gachibowli stadium.

Experienced shuttler Arvind Bhatt struggled past an unknown Rohan Castelino, while Ajay Jayaram and HS Prannoy also reached the pre-quarters.

Young guns Shayali Gokhale and PV Sindhu also reached the second round. Neha Pandit survived a scare against Sri Lankan Thilini Jayasinghe on her way to the next round.

PC Thulasi, however, became a first round casualty.

Top seed Indonesian Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka and Tommy Sugiarto also advanced to the third round, while Chinese shuttlers Qiao Bin and Chen Yuekun saw off their respective opponents to enter the last 16 stage.

Eighth seeds Trupti and Gurusaidutt, however, had a disappointing day as they were knocked out in the first round.

The National champion was sent packing by compatriot Tanvi Lad 21-19 21-16, while Guru lost a grim battle against Chinese Chen Yuekun 14-21 21-13 19-21.

However, third seed Kashyap had a walk in the park as he steamrolled Sameer Verma 21-11 21-14, while second seed Chetan took 23 minutes to spank Iranian Mohamad Reza Khanjani 21-17 21-10 in men's singles.

But seventh seed Arvind had to survive some nervous moments before beating Rohan Castelino 14-21 21-16 21-17. Jayaram beat Takuma Ueda of Japan 21-12 21-16, while Prannoy saw off Indonesian Shesar Hiren Rhustavito 21-18 21-18.

Sindhu beat Bangladesh qualifier Alina Sultana 21-7 21-12, Shayali defeated seventh seed Thai Nichaon Jindapon 21-19 21-12 to set up a clash with Indonesian Belaetrix Manuputi tomorrow. Neha shrugged off some stiff resistance from Thilini to beat her 21-19 20-22 21-11.

In the mixed doubles, fourth seeds Pranav Chopra and Prajakta Sawant got a first-round bye, while another Indian pair of Tarun Kona and Ashwini Ponnappa beat the Bangladesh combo of Parash Md Ahsun Habib and Alina Sultana 21-9 21-12.

Second seed Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan also moved to the next round after getting a bye.