Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, June 28: B Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma, two Indian shuttlers, lost in the first round of the men’s singles competition on Tuesday, ending their tournament runs at the Malaysia Open Super 750 badminton competition. Praneeth lost against Indonesia’s Anthony Sinisuka Ginting, the sixth-ranked player in the world, while Sameer fell to Jonatan Christie, the eighth-ranked player in the world.
In a 50-minute men’s single match, Praneeth, 30, who is presently rated number 19 in the world, fell to Ginting 15-21, 21-19, and 9-21.
This was their ninth match, with the Indonesian holding a 4-3 advantage in their head-to-head record. When they last competed, Ginting won the match at the 2020 Asian Team Championships when Praneeth retired due to injury.
In the other men’s singles match, Sameer, who was returning from injury, battled for 49 minutes before losing 14-21, 21-13, 7-21.
In doubles, the sixth-seeded Japanese team of Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida eliminated Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy after defeating them 15-21, 11-21.
Other Indians competing include HS Prannoy, who reached the semifinals of the Indonesia Open, and Liew Daren of Malaysia. Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, ranked eighth in the world, will compete against Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee of Malaysia later in the day.
