Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) Anup Sridhar and Trupti Murugune were among the seven Indian badminton players who made it to the main draw of the singles event of the India Open Super Series here Tuesday.

This is not surprising as the 16-player qualification draw in both the men’s and women’s event had mostly Indian players competing in it.

In men’s singles, H.S.Prannoy, Sai Praneeth, Sridhar and Sourabh Verma reached the main draw while Sayali Gokhale, Trupti, Pusarla Venkata Sindhu filled three slots in the women’s section. Hong Kong’s Lok Yan Poon was the only non-Indian to qualify in the women’s singles.

Sridhar, who beat Vikram Saini 21-14, 21-8 in the first match and K.Nandagopal 21-14, 25-23 in the second, will run into second seed and former Olympic champion Taufiq Hidayat.

“I am playing well and I will give my best shot,” said Sridhar, who slumped from a career high ranking of 24 in 2008 to current 119.

Sridhar, however, would take inspiration from his past as his famous career win came against Taufiq when he upset the Indonesian at the World Championships and made it to the quarterfinals in 2007.

Since then Sridhar’s career has gone down with injuries taking a toll.

“It is a very important tournament for me since I am making a come back after a break. The first thing I had to do was to lose lot of a weight and I have shed 5-6 kgs. I have worked hard on my game and the going has been good in the last 5-6 months,” he said.

Results:
Men singles: Sai Praneeth B. bt Suppanyu Avihingsanon 21-19, 21-19; Anup Sridhar bt Nandagopal K. 21-14, 25-23; Sourabh Verma bt Chun Seang Tan 21-12, 20-22, 21-12; Oscar Bansal bt Aditya Elango 21-16, 21-17; Prannoy H.S. bt Guaranshu Chopra; Suppanyu Avihingsanon bt Tanveer Gill 21-12 21-12; Sai Praneeth B. bt Gupta Manish 21-5, 21-7; Nandagopal K. bt Rohan Castelino 14-21, 21-13, 21-15; Anup Sridhar bt Vikram Saini 21-14, 21-8 Sourabh Verma bt Nigel Dsa 21-15, 21-17; Chun Seang Tan bt Nagendra T 21-9, 21-11

Women: Sayali Gokhale bt Mudra Dahinje 21-12, 21-10; Trupti Murgunde bt Anita Ohlan 21-15, 21-14; Lok Yan Poon bt Arundhati Pantawane 21-17, 14-21, 21-13; Sindhu Pusarla Venkata bt Neha Pandit 21-13, 21-18; Sayali Gokhale bt Tanvi Lad 20-22, 21-19, 21-15 Mudra Dahinje bt Mohita Sahdev 21-14, 21-16; Trupti Murgunde bt Dhanya Nair 21-18, 21-5; Anita Ohlan bt Sanyogita Ghorpade 21-9, 21-14; Lok Yan Poon bt Saili Rane 21-8, 21-10; Arundhati Pantawane bt Ying Suet Tse 21-19, 14-21, 22-20; Sindhu Pusarla Venkata bt Thulasi P.C 21-18, 21-15; Neha Pandit bt Monika Fasungova 21-8, 21-12.