Mixed doubles pairs win at Malaysian Open

Kuala Lumpur :

Chetan Anand became a first round casualty but mixed doubles pair of Jwala Gutta and V Diju kept the tri-colour fluttering as India wrapped up a mixed day at the Malaysia Open Super Series badminton event here on Wednesday.

The duo of Jwala and Diju eased past German combo of Johannes Schoettler and Sandra Marinello 21-12 21-13 in just 24 minutes to enter the second round at the Bukit Jalil Putra stadium.

Jwala-Diju did not break a sweat and raced away with the first game 21-12 after beating their rivals at the net with some deft shots. The Indians pinned the German duo to the corners and forced them to commit errors.

In the second game, Jwala-Diju showed their prowess at net play and back court game as the Indians refused to give any chances to the opponents.

The Indian duo's controlled play at the net saw them pocketing the game 21-13.

Earlier in the first round of the men's singles event, Chetan lost 14-21 17-21 to Kazushi Yamada, while qualifier Anand Pawar went down 17-21 21-23 after a spirited fight in the second game to sixth seed Boonsak Ponsana.

In the women's doubles category, Commonwealth Games gold medallist pair of Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa suffered a three-game loss. The Indian combo lost 11-21 21-16 5-21 to fifth seed Jing Du and Pan Pan in a 43 minute clash in the first round.