Srikanth, Prannoy win; Kashyap lose in World C’ship

Jakarta, Aug 12:
Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth and H S Prannoy sailed into the pre-quarterfinals with straight-game wins but it was heartbreak for Parupalli Kashyap in the men’s singles competition at the World badminton Championship here today.
World No. 3 Srikanth, who won the India Super Series this year, defeated Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Jen Hao 21-14 21-15, while World No. 12 Prannoy beat Uganda’s Edwin Ekiring 21-14 21-19 in another lop-sided contest.
While third seed Srikanth will take on 13th seed Hu Yun of Hong Kong, against whom the Hyderabadi has a 2-0 record, 11th seed Prannoy will have a tough task ahead as he faces Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen. The World No. 7 has beaten Prannoy twice in the last two meeting.
Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap, seeded 10th, played out of his skin but could not get past 32-year-old Tien Minh Nguyen of Vietnam, losing 21-17 13-21 18-21 in a tough encounter that lasted an hour and five minutes.
There was good news for 2011 World Championship bronze medallists, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa as the 13th seed beat Chinese Taipei pair of Hsueh Pei Chen and Wu Ti Jung 21-10 21-18 in women’s doubles competition. (PTI)