Sai Praneeth makes winning start

 

PUNE, Feb 24:  Former World Championship bronze medalist B Sai Praneeth eased past Pruthvi Roy K 21-13 21-19 to move into the men’s singles second round of the 84th Senior Nationals here on Friday.

Maharashtra’s 10th-seeded Harshil Dani had to sweat hard before beating Kiran Kumar 16-21 21-17 21-12 in the first round.

Having won the first game, Kiran had a 11-7 lead in the second to put Harshil under pressure.

Harshil put all his experience into count and focussed on speed and accuracy to make it 13-13 and then went on to win the next five points in a row to pocket the game.

There was no turning back for him as Harshil didn’t allow his opponent to pose a threat to his victory and sealed the issue with a 21-12 win in the third game.

In the women’s singles, Ashmita defeated Gowrikrishna TR 21-9, 21-12 while Prerana Alvekar prevailed over Pinky Karki 21-6, 20-22, 21-14. Malvika Bansod defeated Jananika R 21-16, 21-11.

In the men’s singles’, Arya Bhivpathaki started his campaign on a winning note. He defeated Riku Khape 24-22, 21-11.  (PTI)