JOIN USYoung shuttler P V Sindhu lost a gallant fight in her opening round but London Olympics quarterfinalist Parupalli Kashyap kept India’s tricolour fluttering with a straight-game win to reach the second round of the China Open in Shanghai on Wednesday.
Commonwealth bronze medallist Kashyap was the only bright spot for India in men’s singles as all other Indians bowed out of the tournament after losing their opening contest.
World number 23 Kashyap notched up a 21-15, 21-15 victory over Sweden’s Henri Hurskainen in a 37-minute contest.
Indian men’s doubles pair of Tarun Kona and Arun Vishnu also notched up an easy 21-2, 21-4 win over Mongolia’s Erdenebayar Enkhbold and Zolzaya Munkhbaatar to reach the second round in an otherwise dismal day.
In women’s singles, returning to action after over a month due to a knee problem, Sindhu fought fiercely against world number 14 Eriko Hirose before going down 20-22, 21-14, 19-21 to the Japanese in an hour and six minutes match.
Among other Indians, Ajay Jayaram suffered a 18-21, 21-16, 14-21 loss to Malaysia’s Daren Liew, while RMV Gurusaidutt also went down fighting to Takuma Ueda 21-11, 13-21, 11-21 in men’s singles contests.