Srikanth, Sameer knocked out of Japan Open
Tokyo: K Srikanth's poor run of form continued as the Indian shuttler crashed out of the Japan Open after suffering a first-round defeat at the hands of compatriot HS Prannoy, here on Wednesday.
It was disappointment for Sameer Verma too, who went down to Denmark's Anders Antonsen in straight games in another men's singles match. The unseeded Indian lost 17-21 12-21 in the match that lasted 46 minutes.
Prannoy stunned the higher ranked Srikanth 13-21, 21-11, 22-20 in a match that lasted 59 minutes at the BWF World Tour Super 750 tournament.
The eighth seed Srikanth, who holds a superior head-to-head record against Prannoy, started of well clinching the first game 21-13.
However, the unseeded Prannoy came back strongly taking the second game 21-11. The decider went down to the wire with Prannoy having the last laugh. He will face Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the second round.
Srikanth, the former world No. 1, has been struggling for consistency this season. He made a second-round exit from the Indonesia Open last week.
It was curtains for the mixed doubles pair of Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Sikki Reddy as well. The duo went down 11-21, 14-21 to the Chinese combination of Zhend Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiaong in just 26 minutes.
Later in the day, PV Sindhu will begin her campaign against China's Yue Han.
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15 IAS officers transferred in Haryana
Chandigarh (PTI): The Haryana government transferred 15 IAS officers with immediate effect on Wednesday.
Among those who have been transferred are Vineet Garg, Chairman, Haryana State Pollution Control Board. He has been posted as the additional chief secretary to the government's printing and stationery department, relieving Raja Shekhar Vundru of the charge, a government order said.
Ajay Kumar, Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram, has been transferred and posted as the deputy principal secretary-II to the chief minister against a newly-created post.
Pankaj Agarwal, Principal Secretary, Irrigation and Water Resources Department, has been posted as the principal secretary in the architecture department, relieving Apporva Kumar Singh of the charge.
Saket Kumar, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Commissioner and Secretary, Development and Panchayats Department, has been transferred and posted as the commissioner and secretary in the archives department, relieving Shekhar Vidyarthi of the charge.
Mani Ram Sharma, Registrar, Cooperative Societies, has been posted as the secretary in the health department, relieving Rippudaman Singh Dhillon of the charge.
