All England Championship: Saina Nehwal, Kidambi Srikanth crash out in quarter-finals
Other Sports | March 08, 2019 23:45 ISTSaina Nehwal went down 15-21 19-21 to Taiwanese Tai Tzu-Ying in the 37-minute quarterfinal clash.
Saina Nehwal went down 15-21 19-21 to Taiwanese Tai Tzu-Ying in the 37-minute quarterfinal clash.
Nobody from India has won the All England Championships in the last 18 years.
With defending champion HS Prannoy and finalist Kidambi Srikanth withdrawing due to fitness issues, former champion Sai Praneeth will be one of the favourites to lift the trophy
Sindhu and Saina will undoubtedly be the biggest attraction with some big names as last edition's finalists -- Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy are giving the tournament a miss due to fitness issues.
Saina Nehwal defeated Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-7 21-18 while Kidambi Srikanth lost to Jonatan Christie 18-21 19-21 in the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters.
PV Sindhu beat Mariska Tunjung 23-21, 21-7 while Kidambi Srikanth got the better of Kenta Nishimoto 21-14 21-9 to reach the quarter-finals of Indonesia Masters.
After the engagements of Premier Badminton League (PBL), Sindhu decided to skip last week's Malaysia Masters and she will begin her campaign against former Olympic gold medallist China's Li Xuerui on Wednesday.
Saina is the only Indian in women's singles event and will next play another unseeded shuttler from Hong Kong's Pui Yin Yip in the second round.
B Sai Praneeth, meanwhile, has decided to give the tournament a miss after featuring in the PBL for Bengaluru Raptors.
In Sindhu's absence, Saina will be the cynosure of all eyes and the celebrated Indian has been in decent form this year having won a gold at the Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the Asian Games.
The fourth seed Srikanth lost to eighth seed Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 21-17, 21-13 in straight games.
Kidambi Srikanth defeated HS Prannoy 18-21, 30-29, 21-18 in an all-Indian clash to enter the quarters of the Hong Kong Open.
Srikanth is currently ranked ninth among men in the world, while Rio Olympics silver medalist Sindhu is ranked second among the women.
It was Sindhu's third loss to Bingjiao, who had defeated her at the Indonesia Open and French Open in July and October this year.
Sindhu stamped her authority with a 21-12, 21-15 win over Thailand's Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the second round.
Fifth seed Srikanth, ranked 9th, saw off France's Lucas Corvee 21-12, 21-16 in 35 minutes to set up a clash with Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto.
Third seed Sindhu looked a pale shadow of herself as she lost 13-21, 16-21 in 40 minutes against seventh seed He Bingjiao of China.
Praneeth was no match for Asian Games champion Jonatan Christie of Indonesia, going down 16-21, 14-21 in a men's singles match.
Srikanth showed great determination to outwit Korea's world No 25 Lee Dong Keun 12-21, 21-16, 21-18 in a second-round clash that clocked an hour and 13 minutes.
Sindhu, who is currently competing at the French Open in Paris, jumped one spot to stay one spot behind Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying, who continues to dominate the rankings.
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