27-05-2025
Singapore Open 2025: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy advance to second round
Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and India's HS Prannoy secured their places in the second round of the Singapore Open Super 750 tournament with contrasting victories on Tuesday, while several other Indian players faced early showcased dominant form in her opening match, dispatching Canada's Wen Yu Zhang with a commanding 21-14, 21-9 win in just 31 minutes. The former world champion will face a stern test in the next round against Tokyo Olympic gold medalist and current world No.5 Chen Yu Fei of Prannoy, currently ranked world No. 34, was tested thoroughly by Denmark's higher-ranked Rasmus Gemke. The 32-year-old Indian battled back from a game down to clinch a hard-fought 19-21, 21-16, 21-14 victory. Prannoy's next opponent will be France's Christov Popov in the round of 16.
However, the day was less kind to the rest of the Indian contingent. Malvika Bansod, Anmol Kharb, Priyanshu Rajawat, and Kiran George all bowed out after tough first-round Bansod squandered a one-game lead to lose 21-14, 18-21, and 11-21 to Thailand's eighth seed, Supanida Katethong. Similarly, Priyanshu Rajawat suffered a 21-14, 10-21, 14-21 loss to Japan's seventh-seeded Kodai Naraoka in a match lasting over an Kharb put up a valiant effort but was ultimately outclassed by China's Chen Yu Fei, falling 11-21, 22-24. Kiran George, who had reached the India Open quarterfinals earlier this year, lost 19-21, 17-21 to China's Weng Hong singles player R. Santhosh Ramraj also exited early after a 14-21, 8-21 defeat to South Korea's Kim Ga mixed doubles pair Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto were beaten 18-21, 13-21 by China's Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi. Meanwhile, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Parmuthesh lost 11-21, 17-21 to Japan's Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka women's doubles, the duo Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singh went down 4-21, 9-21 to Korea's Baek Ha Na and Lee So Watch
