GOOD DAY for men's singles shuttlers Kidambi Srikanth, HS Prannoy, Sameer Verma and mixed doubles duo Satwiksai Raj/Ashwini Ponnappa at Japan Super Series.
It was easy victories for Prannoy and Satwik/Ashwini while others had to fight hard to earn a spot in the pre-quarters.
Prannoy defeated Anders Antonsen 21-12, 21-14. He will either face Jen Hao or Ng Ka Long Angus in the next round.
Satwik/Ashwini were the first to get on court today and started India's campaign on a positive note beating Tinn Isriyanet/Pacharapun 21-17, 21-13. They next face 4th seeds Praveen Jordan/Debby Susanto.
Srikanth and Sameer on the other hand fought hard; Srikanth defeated Tian Houwei 21-15, 12-21, 21-11 while Sameer ousted Khosit Phetpradab 21-12, 21-19.
8th seed Srikanth will next face Hu Yun while Sameer may face Brice Leverdez or second seed Shi Yuqi next.
Saina Nehwal as expected started her campaign with a win over Pornpawee 21-17, 21-9 to set up a clash against Carolina Marin in the next round.
4th seed PV Sindhu too sealed a spot in the next round after a tensed match against Mitani of Japan. After losing the opening game, the Indian fought back to set up a clash for the third time in a row against Nozomi Okuhara.
It was end of the road for Sourabh Verma, Sai Praneeth, Ashwini Ponnappa/Sikki Reddy and Manu Attri/Sumeeth Reddy. A tough fight went in vain for young pair Satwik/Chirag as they too ended their campaign against 3rd seeds.