Jakarta: Top shuttlers Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu registered contrasting victories in the first round of women’s singles matches while the mixed doubles team crashed out of the 18th Asian Games here on Thursday.
While Saina swept aside Soraya Aghaeihajiagha of Iran 21-7, 21-9 in less than half an hour, Sindhu snatched a 21-10, 12-21, 23-21 victory from the jaws of defeat against Vietnam’s Thi Trang Vu.
The mixed doubles team of Ashwini Ponappa and Satwik Ranireddy lost 25-27, 16-21 to Thailand’s World No. 15 pair of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
Soon after, Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy also lost to Malaysia’s Liu Ying Gho and Peng Soon 15-21, 21-23 to end India’s mixed doubles campaign.
In men’s doubles, Satwik, Chirag Shetty and Manu Attri, Sumit Reddy qualified for the Round of 16.
While Satwik and Chirag recorded a facile 21-12, 21-14 win over Hong Kong’s Chun Hei Tam and Yonny Chung; Manu and Sumit were more severe with Maldives’ Mohamed Rasheed and Thoif Ahmed Mohamed, brushing them aside 21-10, 21-8.
The women’s doubles pair of Rutaparna Panda and Arathi Sunil, meanwhile, went down to Thai pair Chayanit Chaladchalam and Phataimas Muenwong 11-21, 6-21.
Coming to Saina’s game, the world No 10 was utterly dominant from the word go and gave her opponent no room to fashion any sort of chance.
Sindhu, on the other hand, breezed past Vu in the first game where the gulf in class between the two players was clearly visible.
But Vu, ranked 52 in the world, made the most of a raft of errors by World No 3 Sindhu to stun her 21-12 in the second game and take the match all the way down to the wire.
Sindhu frittered away a comfortable two-game lead, and in the third game was leading 18-15 before losing her head.