Sindhu beats Yigit to enter second round of Swiss Open

Rankiredddy and Chirag won the hard-fought first set 21-18 but went down in the second essay as the Scottish pair fired an array of shots to diffuse the Indian attack.

Basel [Switzerland]: Indian shuttler PV Sindhu got off to a winning start in the Swiss Open as she defeated Neslihan Yigit of Turkey here on Wednesday.

Sindhu secured a 21-16, 21-19 win over Yigit in the match to progress to the second round. She started off brilliantly in the first game, taking a 10-5 lead but her opponent managed to end the lead, with scores reading 11-11.

Sindhu then again took a lead and then maintained it throughout, winning the first game 21-16. In the second game, Yigit gave a tough competition to Sindhu but the latter held her nerves and went on to win the game.

PV Sindhu

Earlier in the day, the Indian men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty started their campaign on a high as they outclassed Scottish pair Christopher Grimley and Matthew Grimley in the first round of the Swiss Open.

Rankiredddy and Chirag won the hard-fought first set 21-18 but went down in the second essay as the Scottish pair fired an array of shots to diffuse the Indian attack.

The Indian pair in the third set took a lead early and then maintained a gap throughout the set to clinch the match comfortably 21-18, 19-21, 21-16.

Also, Indian shuttler Kidambi Srikanth defeated compatriot Sameer Verma in the first round of the ongoing Swiss Open here on Wednesday. Srikanth secured an 18-21, 21-18, 21-11 win over Verma to progress to the next round of the tournament.

However, HS Prannoy crashed out of the tournament after losing to Dutch badminton player Mark Caljouw 21-19, 9-21, 21-17.