Sports
Saina, Srikanth, Kashyap in Malaysia Open second round
Kuala Lumpur: Leading Indian shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth progressed to the second round of the $500,000 Malaysia Open Superseries Premier at the Putra Stadium here on Wednesday.
While World No.2 Saina registered a comprehensive 21-13, 21-16 victory over Indonesian Maria Febe Kudumastuti, World No.4 Srikanth overcame Englishman Rajiv Ouseph 21-10, 15-21, 24-22 in 56 minutes in the first round.
Also advancing to the second round were Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap and World No.17 H.S. Prannoy.
While World No.13 Kashyap moved past South Korean Lee Dong Keun 21-15, 11-21, 21-14 in an hour and 11 minutes, Prannoy defeated a spirited Irishman Scott Evans 22-20, 21-18 in 40 minutes.
However, Indian men’s doubles pair of Manu Attri and B. Sumeeth Reddy was handed a 11-21, 17-21 thrashing in 30 minutes by the Indonesian team of Andrei Adistia and Hendra Aprida Gunawan.
In the second round on Thursday, Olympic bronze medallist and World No.2 Saina will face Chinese qualifier Xue Yao. Xue defeated Thailand’s Busanan Ongbumrungpan 21-11, 11-21, 21-15.
The Hyderabadi is assured of the top rank when the Badminton World Federation (BWF) releases its latest rankings on Thursday.
Srikanth will face Indonesian qualifier Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka, who battled past Vietnam’s Tien Minh Nguyen 18-21, 21-11, 21-14.
Hong Kong’s Hu Yun upset Danish sixth seed Viktor Axelsen 21-17, 13-21, 21-16 to set up the second round contest against Japanese Kento Momota, who beat Thai qualifier Boonsak Ponsana 21-17, 21-10.
Five-time world champion Lin Dan entered the second round after his opponent Tommy Sugiarto, who defeated the Chinese maestro at the Indian Open last week, retired hurt.
Top contenders in the women’s singles competition — Olympic champion Li Xuerui, former World No.1 Yihang Wang and former World champion Ratchanok Intanon — entered the second round.
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.
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