Badminton Open: Sai Praneeth Advances into Second Round of Japan Open

Indian shuttler Sai Praneeth started off his Japan Open 2019 campaign on a winning note as he registered a comprehensive straight-games victory over Japan’s Kento Nishimoto in the opening round of the $750,000 tournament here on Tuesday.

Praneeth, who didn’t have as great a run in the recently-concluded Indonesia Open losing to Hong Kong’s Wong Wing Ki Vincent, defeated Nishimoto 21-17, 21-13 in the first-round contest that lasted just for 42 minutes.

Praneeth had pulled out of the last edition of this tournament and he came out with a confident performance this time around.

In the mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also advanced to the second round with an easy win over Germany’s Linda Efler and Marvin Seidel. The Indian pair defeated the duo of Efler-Seidel 21-14, 21-19 in 33 minutes.