JOIN USKashyap sees off Domke
The 38th-ranked Indian began well, taking the first game 21-13. But the German, ranked 85, fought back well claiming a tight second game 25-23. The third and deciding game, however, went comfortably Kashyap’s way 21-11 as he booked a place in the next round.
However, the curtains came down on India’s campaign in the men’s doubles event after Rupesh Kumar and Sanave Thomas went down fighting in the second round.
Rupesh and Sanave squandered a one-game lead to lose 19-21, 21-11, 21-12 in 48 minutes to the eighth-seeded Indonesian duo of Alvent Yulianto Chandra and Hendra Aprida Gunawan.
Rupesh and Sanave had earlier defeated the German combination of Michael Fuchs and Oliver Roth 9-21, 21-18, 21-17 in their tournament opener on Monday. With Rupesh and Sanave’s exit, the country’s challenge came to an end in the men’s doubles event as the other Indian pair in fray -- Pranav Chopra and Tarun Kona -- had already crashed out in the first round, losing 17-21, 13-21 to Hung Ling Chen and Yu Lang Lin of Chinese Taipei on Monday night. Against the higher-ranked Indonesian pair on Tuesday, Rupesh and Sanave started on a promising note, racing to a 4-1 and then 7-3 lead in the opening game, before Chandra and Gunawan pocketed three consecutive points to reduce the margin to 7-6.
From there on, it was a neck-and-neck fight between the two pairs till 19 points before the Indians stepped up the accelerator and pocketed two straight points to seal the opening game in their favour.
Stunned by the unseeded Indian duo’s performance in the first game, Chandra and Gunawan came out all guns blazing in the next and in no time took a 9-2 lead. The Indonesian pair then enhanced their lead to 18-6 before drawing parity by pocketing the game 21-11.
After the initial burst, Rupesh and Sanave faded away as the Indonesian pair upped their game with every passing point and did not concede an inch to their rivals to win the decider 21-12 and book their place in the pre-quarterfinals.
Lin advances
China's Lin Dan eased into the second round of the men’s singles draw with a 21-11, 21-10 success over Lithuanian Kestutis Navickas. The Chinese looked in good shape at the Wembley Arena against his world-ranked 40 opponent.
Lin's return of some heavy smashing coupled with sharp reflexes took him through in 34 minutes. The victory avoided fresh Chinese embarrassment after the shock defeat on Monday of fifth-seeded Chen Long by Guatemalan outsider Kevin Cordon. Wang Shixian, China's top seed in the women's singles, started her campaign with a comfortable 21-11, 21-14 victory over Bulgaria's Linda Zechiri.
Ireland’s Scott Evans beat Austria's Michael Lahnsteiner 21-15, 21-16 in the men's singles, following Chloe Magee's opening day win in the women's event.