Prannoy and Sindhu advance to second round in Singapore

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy provided rare positives for India on an otherwise disappointing opening day at the Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tournament on Tuesday. Sindhu emerged as the lone bright spark among the women while Prannoy kept India’s hopes alive in the men's singles by outclassing Denmark's Rasmus Gemke to advance to the second round.

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Sindhu cruised into the second round with a commanding straight-game win over Canada's Wen Yu Zhang. The 29-year-old made short work of Zhang with a dominant 21-14, 21-9 win in just 31 minutes. The Indian ace was in control throughout, mixing aggression with precision as she outplayed her Canadian opponent in both rallies and net exchanges.

The win, however, sets up a tough second-round clash for Sindhu, as she is scheduled to face Tokyo Olympics gold medallist and current world No. 5 Chen Yu Fei of China - a rival she has had a chequered history.

In men’s singles, Prannoy got the better of his Danish opponent in an hour and 12-minute clash. After going down in the opening game 19-21, the Indian shuttler made a strong comeback to keep himself alive in the tournament after clinching the remaining two games 21-16 and 21-14.