Did Sindhu and Prannoy Shine at the Singapore Open?

Singapore, May 27 (NationPress) Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy emerged as rare positives for India during an otherwise lackluster opening day at the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Tuesday. While Sindhu stood out as the sole bright spot among the women, Prannoy kept India's hopes alive in the men's singles by defeating Denmark's Rasmus Gemke to progress to the second round.

Sindhu advanced to the next stage with a commanding straight-game victory over Canada's Wen Yu Zhang. The 29-year-old showcased her dominance with a decisive 21-14, 21-9 win, taking just 31 minutes. Throughout the match, the Indian star maintained control, blending aggression with precision in both rallies and net exchanges.

This win sets up a challenging second-round match for Sindhu, as she is set to face Chen Yu Fei of China, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist and the current world No. 5—a rival against whom she has had a tumultuous history.

In the men's singles, Prannoy triumphed over his Danish opponent in a match lasting one hour and 12 minutes. After losing the first game 19-21, the Indian shuttler made a strong comeback, clinching the next two games 21-16 and 21-14 to stay in contention.

Next up for Prannoy is a second-round clash against France's Christo Popov on Wednesday.

Aside from Sindhu and Prannoy, the remainder of the Indian contingent faced early exits. Malvika Bansod and Priyanshu Rajawat both started strongly, winning their opening games, but couldn't maintain their momentum. Malvika was defeated 21-14, 18-21, 11-21 by Thailand's eighth seed Supanida Katethong in a 58-minute battle.

Similarly, Priyanshu fell to Japan's seventh-seeded Kodai Naraoka, losing 21-14, 10-21, 14-21 in a match that extended beyond an hour.

Young talent Anmol Kharb displayed determination against China's formidable Chen Yu Fei but ultimately lost 11-21, 22-24, narrowly missing a chance to force a third game.

Kiran George, who previously impressed with a quarterfinal appearance at the India Open, could not carry that momentum forward, losing in straight games to Weng Hong Yang of China, 19-21, 17-21.

R. Santhosh Ramraj faced a tough match, losing 14-21, 8-21 to South Korea's Kim Ga Eun.

The doubles events also brought no relief. In mixed doubles, the Indian duo of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto lost 18-21, 13-21 to the Chinese pair Cheng Xing and Zhang Chi. Another Indian mixed pair, Ashith Surya and Amrutha Parmuthesh, were eliminated after suffering an 11-21, 17-21 defeat to Japan's Yuichi Shimogami and Sayaka Hobara.