If Sindhu and Saina win their respective second round matches, they will face each other in the quarter-finals.
IMAGE: Saina Nehwal won a close contest that lasted 38 minutes. Photograph: Saina Nehwal/Twitter
Ace Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal began their All England Championships campaign with easy straight-game wins over their respective opponents in the women’s singles in Birmingham on Wednesday.
Sixth seed Sindhu beat Zhi Yi Wang of China 21-18, 21-13 in her first round match that lasted 42 minutes while Saina defeated Beatriz Corrales of Spain 21-17, 21-19 in 38 minutes.
The World No 7 Sindhu will meet the winner of the first round match between Sayaka Takahashi of Japan and Supanida Katethong of Thailand in the second round.
Saina, who had reached the final in this prestigious competition in 2015, will face the winner of the first round match between second seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan and Kristin Kuuba of Estonia in the second round.
If Sindhu and Saina win their respective second round matches, they will face each other in the quarter-finals.
In men’s singles, B Sai Praneeth lost to top seed and Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen 20-22, 11-21 in the first round match that lasted 48 minutes.
H S Prannoy went down fighting to last week’s German Open winner Thai player Kunlavut Vitidsarn 15-21, 22-24 in 56 minutes while Sameer Verma also lost to Mark Caljouw of the Netherlands 18-21, 11-21 in a 41-minute opening match.
In men’s doubles, fifth seeded Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty beat Scottish pair of Alexander Dunn and Adam Hall 21-17, 21-19 in 38 minutes.
But M R Arjun and Dhruv Kapila lost 21-15, 12-21, 18-21 to second seed Indonesian pair of Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan.
The other Indian men’s doubles pair of Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala also suffered defeat at the hands of the German duo of Mark Lamfuss and Marvin Seidel 16-21, 19-21 in just 37 minutes.
In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Pullela Gayatri Gopichand made it to the second round with a 17-21, 22-20, 21-14 victory over the Thailand pair of Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard in one hour and seven minutes.
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