The 22nd of August witnessed the inception of the BWF World Championships in Tokyo. The prestigious championship holds utmost importance in the badminton arena, giving the players a chance to acquire higher rankings. The opening day saw some dominating performances from the Indian shuttlers. As PV Sindhu misses out due to an injury, fans rested their hopes on the likes of Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikant, and Saina Nehwal.
The expectations were met with success as they now move on to the round of 32 conquering the round of 64. Lakshya Sen beat Hans-Kristian Vittinghus with a dominating performance of 21-12, 21-11. The young gun tackled Vittinghus with sharp smashes and maintained a long rally of 31 shots to counter the opponent’s attacks. Similarly, H.S Prannoy scaled to the next round by defeating Luka Wraber of Austria in straight games of 21-12, 21-11.
Moreover, in another men’s single Srikant Kidambi managed a win against Nhat Nguyen of Ireland in straight games of 22-20, 21-19. However, Sai Praneeth lagged in another single’s game against Chou Tien Chen of Taiwan. He lost the game by 21-15, 15-21, and 21-15.
Super Sen! 🤩
📹 Take a look at this winning shot by Lakshya Sen from the R64 match of World Championships 2022 👀#BWFWorldChampionships | @bwfmedia | @lakshya_sen pic.twitter.com/nc0T0fPaZV
— Olympic Khel (@OlympicKhel) August 22, 2022
The women’s doubles witnessed Ashwini Ponappa and N. Sikki Reddy beat Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq and Aminath Nabeeha Abdul Razzaq of Maldives by 21-7, 21-9. Moreover, the Indian side earned another win, this time in Mixed Double’s courtesy of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto. The duo beat Patrick Scheiel and Franziska Volkman of Germany by 21-12, 21-13.
Saina Nehwal cruised to the second round as she beat Cheung Ngan Yi of Hong Kong in straight games of 21-19, 21-9. Moreover, she is through to the third round now as her opponent for the second round pulls out due to an injury giving Nehwal a bye. Additionally, the pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Pullela access the second round. The duo beat Low Yeen Yuan and Valeree Siow of Malaysia by 21-11, 21-13.
BWF World Championships: Round up of the first round, Round of 64.
A 🔥 and dominant display from @P9Ashwini & @sikkireddy to take home the opening match against 🇲🇻’s Aminath & Fathima in straight games.
Way to go, champs! 👏@himantabiswa | @sanjay091968 #WORLDS2022 #WorldChampionships2022#Tokyo2022 #IndiaontheRise#Badminton pic.twitter.com/0xSZGpXrFB
— BAI Media (@BAI_Media) August 22, 2022
Here is how the Indian performers fared in the first round of the championship.
Men’s Singles:
- Lakshya Sen beat H.K. Vittinghus (21-12, 21-11)
- Kidambi Srikanth beat N. Nguyen (22-20, 21-19)
- B. Sai Praneeth lost to T.C. Chou (21-15, 15-21, 21- 15)
- HS Prannoy beat L. Wraber (21-12, 21-11)
Women’s Singles:
- Malvika Bansod lost to L. Christophersen (21-14, 21-12)
- Saina Nehwal beat Cheung Ngan Yi (21-19, 21-9)
Men’s Doubles:
- Manu Attri/B Sumeeth Reddy lost to H. Okamura/M. Onodera (21-11, 19-21, 21-15)
- MR Arjun/Dhruv Kapila beat K. Kedren/K. Jomkoh (21-17, 17-21, 22-20)
Women’s Doubles:
- Ashwini Ponnappa/N Sikki Reddy beat F. Abdul Razzaq/A.N. Abdul Razzaq (21-7, 21-9)
- Pooja Dandu/Sanjana Santosh beat I. Castillo/P.L.T. Regal (21-6, 10-21, 21-14)
- Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Pullela beat Low Yeen Yuan and Valeree Siow (21-11, 21-13)
Mixed Doubles:
- Ishaan Bhatnagar/Tanisha Crasto beat F. Volkmann/P. Scheiel (21-12, 21,13)
