Indian shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy have advanced to the pre-quarterfinals of the men’s singles event at the Japan Open 2023 badminton tournament at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, currently ranked 20th, defeated world No. 8 Chou Tien-Chen 21-13, 21-13 in 43 minutes, securing his second victory over the Chinese Taipei shuttler in eight meetings.
In a later match, eighth seed HS Prannoy, who is 10th in the badminton rankings, triumphed over world No. 7 and reigning All England champion Li Shi Feng of the Republic of China in 49 minutes. This marked Prannoy’s third consecutive win against the Chinese player.
Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy will face each other in the upcoming pre-quarterfinals of the BWF Super 750 tournament on Wednesday.
In the women’s doubles, Aakarshi Kashyap, ranked 42nd in the world, lost 21-17, 21-17 to top-ranked Japanese shuttler Akane Yamaguchi in a match that lasted 34 minutes.
In the women’s singles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand staged a comeback to defeat the Japanese duo Sayaka Hobara and Yui Suizu 11-21, 21-15, 21-14 in just over an hour and secured their place in the pre-quarterfinals.
However, Rohan Kapoor and N Sikki Reddy were eliminated from the mixed singles event after being defeated 18-21, 21-9, 21-18 by Chinese Taipei’s Hong Wei and Lee Chia Hsin in a match that lasted 53 minutes.
The results from the Japan Open will contribute to players’ qualifying rankings for the Paris 2024 Olympics. The qualification window for badminton began on May 1 of this year.
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu, who is currently ranked 17th, will compete on Wednesday. The Indian badminton player will face world No. 18 Zhang Yiman of China in her opening match.
