Indian shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap (in pic) and H S Prannoy warmed up for bigger battles ahead with straight-game victories in the opening round of the prestigious World Badminton Championship here on Monday.
Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap, seeded 10th, defeated Netherlands’ Erik Meijs 21-17, 21-10 to set up a clash with Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Minh in the men’s singles competition at the Gelora Bung Karno stadium.
Indonesia Masters winner Prannoy, who is making a comeback after being sidelined due to a foot injury, disposed off Brazil’s Alex Yuwan Tjong 21-12, 21-16 to start his campaign on a positive note.
But the Indian mixed doubles pair of Arun Vishnu and Aparna Balan suffered a close 18-21, 21-10, 22-24 loss to Russian pair of Evgenij Dremin and Evgenia Dimova, while another pair of Tarun Kona and Sikki N Reddy too went down 13-21, 17-21 against liao Min Chun and Chen Hsiao Huan of Chinese Taipei.
Olympic bronze medallist Saina Nehwal, India Super Series winner Kidambi Srikanth and two-time bronze medal winner P V Sindhu will start their campaign on Tuesday.
After his win against Meijs, Kashyap said, “I think today was a OK match. Just felt the conditions were tough at the start of the match but got a good rhythm at the end. The opponent played well at the start. Next match will be tougher, so need to prepare well for it.”
Prannoy, post his victory over Brazil’s Alex Yuwan Tjong, said, “Good to be back on winning days after injury. Was rusty in the second game but had to change the game a bit to attacking mode and then I got my rhythm back. Good first round for me.
“Need to trust myself and enjoy the next round too, without taking extra pressure. Never played him (Edwin Ekiring) but he is a good player. Cannot take him easily and I need to be on my toes day after.”