Arvind Bhat, Anand Pawar reach second round of German Open
Indian shuttlers Arvind Bhat and Anand Pawar crossed the first round hurdle but it was curtains for their compatriots P Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram in the men's singles competition of the German Open Grand Prix Gold in Mulheim an der Ruhr.
Indian shuttlers Arvind Bhat and Anand Pawar crossed the first round hurdle but it was curtains for their compatriots P Kashyap and Ajay Jayaram in the men's singles competition of the German Open Grand Prix Gold in Mulheim an der Ruhr.
Former National champion Bhat reached the second round after Scott Evans retired midway at 21-9, while Pawar defeated Eetu Heino of Finland 21-12, 21-16.
However, Commonwealth Games Bronze medallist P Kashyap lost after a tough battle against Singapore's Zi Liang Derek Wong 15-21, 21-23, while Jayaram suffered a 9-21, 19-21 defeat against fifth seed Simon Santoso of Indonesia.
Bhat will now take on fourth seed Korean Hyun Il Lee in the second round, while Pawar will be up against Santoso.
India's mixed doubles pair of V Diju and Jwala Gutta also failed to cross the first hurdle and suffered a 21-18, 9-21, 19-21 defeat to Wai Hong Wong and Hoi Wah Chau of Hong Kong in a 51-minute hard-fought match.