Saina Nehwal began her All England Badminton Championship campaign with a comfortable win over Scotland's Kirsty Gilmour here Wednesday. But India's top male players, Parupalli Kashyap and Kidambi Srikanth, lost their opening round matches.
World No.7 Saina sailed past 20th ranked Gilmour 21-15, 21-6 in 32 minutes at the National Indoor Arena.
The Hyderabadi next faces American qualifier Beiwen Zhang, who got a walkover from Germany's World No.11 Juliane Schenk.
The second Indian in the women's singles draw, P.V. Sindhu, plays here first round against Sun Yu of China later Wednesday.
World No.19 Kashyap endured a tough loss against fifth ranked Kenichi Tago of Japan. Tago pipped the Indian 14-21, 21-19, 21-17 in a 75 minute battle.
World No.21 Srikanth also fell flat, losing 11-21, 15-21 to 15th-ranked Kento Memota of Japan.
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors
Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share
Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor
Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements
Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app