Praneeth, Sameer lose in Malaysia Open

While Praneeth went down to world number six Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia, Sameer lost to world number 8 Jonatan Christie, also from Indonesia.

Jakarta:Indian shuttlers B Sai Praneeth and Sameer Verma ended their campaign at the Malaysia open Super 750 badminton tournament after going down fighting in the opening round of the men's singles competition here on Tuesday. While Praneeth went down to world number six Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia, Sameer lost to world number 8 Jonatan Christie, also from Indonesia.

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The 30-year-old Praneeth, currently ranked world number 19, lost 15-21 21-19 9-21 to Ginting in a 50-minute men's single match. This was the eight meeting between the players with the Indonesian leading the head-to-head record 4-3. They last played at the 2020 Asian Team championships where Ginting won the contest after Praneeth retired due to an injury.

Sameer, who is making a comeback from injury, fought for 49 minutes before losing 14-21 21-13 7-21 in another match. In doubles, women's pairing of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy also bowed out of the tournament after losing 15-21 11-21 to Japanese duo of Nami Matsuyama and Chiharu Shida, seeded sixth.

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Among other Indians, Indonesia Open semifinalist HS Prannoy will face Malaysia's Liew Daren, while world number 8 Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty will take on the Malaysian duo of Man Wei Chong and Kai Wun Tee later in the day.

PTI