Sindhu, Saina sail into second round of Singapore Open
Singapore: Star Indian shuttlers P V Sindhu and Saina Nehwal sailed into the second round of the Singapore Open with straight-game wins over their respective rivals in the women's singles event here Wednesday.
Taking the court first, Sindhu, seeded fourth, took just 27 minutes to get the better of Indonesia's Lyanny Alessandra Mainaky 21-9 21-7 in a one-sided match.
The Rio Olympics silver-medallist will next play Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark.
Later, sixth seed Saina too tamed another Indonesian in Yulia Yosephin Susanto 21-16 21-11 to book her place in the next round.
Saina, who won a bronze in the 2012 London Olympics, will next meet the winner of the match between young compatriot Mugdha Agrey and Thailand's Pornpawee Chochuwong.
However, it was curtains for India in the opening round of the men's doubles competition.
The pair of Manu Attri and B Sumeeth Reddy lost to qualifiers Danny Bawa Chrisnanta and Kean Hean Loh of Singapore 13-21 17-21.
The mixed doubles pair of Saurabh Sharma and Anoushka Parikh too exited in the opening round after a 12-21 12-21 defeat at the hands of third-seeded Thai pair of Dechapol Puavaranukroh and Sapsiree Taerattanachai.
However, Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy progressed to the mixed doubles second round event after beating Arjun M R and K Maneesha 21-18-21-7 in an all-Indian contest.
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K’taka cabinet approves cricket matches at M. Chinnaswamy stadium: Reports
Belagavi: The state cabinet under the Chairmanship of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has reportedly given its nod to permit cricket matches at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, subject to certain conditions.
The decision is learnt to have been taken after a meeting held at the Suvarna Vidhana Soudha here on Thursday.
Reports indicate that Home Minister Dr G. Parameshwara has been directed to formulate rules along with a referendum to hold a cricket match at the Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The cabinet’s approval comes subject to conditions, considering the report of Justice D’Cunha, which was prepared after the stampede.
The June 4 stampede during the celebrations for RCB’s maiden IPL title killed 11 people, which raised serious questions over the stadium's capability to host large-scale events.
Will RCB be playing at their home ground next year?
Stating that the “state had learned from the tragedy,” Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday, December 08, dismissed the talks about shifting Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s home games out of the city.
He also said that the Chinnaswamy Stadium is the “pride of Bengaluru and Karnataka” and vowed that IPL fixtures will continue to be played there.
On Wednesday, Shivakumar met the newly elected KSCA president Venkatesh Prasad at the Circuit House in Belagavi and reiterated that cricket matches, including IPL fixtures, will not be shifted out of Bengaluru.
“We have no intention of stopping matches at Chinnaswamy Stadium, but crowd control measures and the Michael D. Cunha committee’s recommendations will be implemented in phases,” he told reporters.
Shivakumar said the government is committed to promoting cricket and supporting fans while safeguarding the state’s reputation, adding that Prasad had sought the government’s cooperation and agreed to work jointly on the issue.
