Shuttler Gurusaidutt qualifies for Australian Open

Indian shuttler R.M.V. Gurusaidutt qualified for the men's singles main draw of the $750,000 Australian Open Superseries here on Tuesday.

Mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Pranaav Chopra also entered the main draw after winning two qualification rounds.

Commonwealth Games bronze medallist Gurusaidutt first beat Malaysian Ai Wei Jian 21-13, 21-9 in 29 minutes before downing Japan's Kazumasa Sakai 21-15, 21-8 in 32 minutes. However, the 25-year-old faces an extremely difficult task in the first round of the main draw when he takes on top seed and World No.1 Chen Long of China, who has a 3-0 record over the Indian.

On the other hand, Ponnappa and Chopra first ousted local pair Cham Chen and Susan Wang 21-14, 21-6 in 19 minutes before beating German combine Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich 21-19, 21-17 in 34 minutes. The scratch pair will take on South Koreans Choi Solgyu and Eom Hye Won in the first round on Wednesday.