PV Sindhu dished out a fine show to outclass Thailand's world no. 10 Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-13 21-17 and advance into the second round of the Malaysia Open badminton tournament on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur. (More Badminton News)
Meanwhile, it was curtains for 2012 London Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, who went down fighting against American Iris Wang, ranked 33rd in the world, 11-21, 17-21 in 37 minutes.
Sindhu, seeded seventh, set up a clash with Phittayaporn Chaiwan, a 21-year-old from Thailand, who was part of the bronze medal-winning team at the Uber Cup in Bangkok last month.
B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, who will be leading India's charge at the Commonwealth Games, also couldn't get past world no. 21 pairing of Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek of the Netherlands. The Indian duo lost 15-21, 21-19 17-21 after a 52-minute battle.
Earlier, HS Prannoy faced stiff resistance before prevailing over local hero Daren Liew to progress to the men's singles second round. A former top-10 player, Prannoy, who had reached the semifinals of Indonesia Open Super 1000 earlier this month, emerged 21-14, 17-21, 21-18 winner in 62 minutes.
The 29-year-old from Kerala, ranked 21st currently, will face fourth-seeded Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei next. Prannoy's win brought some cheers to the Indian camp after B Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma made early exits.
