India at BWF World C’ships, Day 2 blog: Saina Nehwal, Gayatri-Treesa, Ashwini-Shikha progress

Women’s doubles round of 64: A player that she had lost twice in the last month alone... title defence... pressure of playing at home... was Akane Yamaguchi going to be under the pump in the opening round? Nope, not one bit. Yamaguchu defeats Tunjung 21-12 21-15 in 35 mins. Absolute statement win.

Vinayakk: Delrue/Villeger are good but that’s the sort of higher-ranked pairing, on paper, that Krishna/Vishnu must be defeating on a regular basis. Disappointing result this one.

Men’s doubles round of 64, Krishna-Vishnu 14-21, 18-21 Fabien-William: A tough loss for the Indians. They showed great composure in fighting back in the second game but the French pair regrouped and closed out a straight-games win.

Men’s doubles round of 64, Krishna-Vishnu 14-21, 16-15 Fabien-William: From 9-15 down to 16-15... a run of SEVEN straight points for Krishna-Vishnu when it looked like the match was slipping away from them.

Men’s doubles round of 64, Krishna-Vishnu 14-21, 7-11 Fabien-William: The Indians continue to be held back by errors in judgement and execution. They’ll need to make a move soon if they are to force a decider.

Men’s doubles round of 64, Krishna-Vishnu 14-21 Fabien-William: The French pair takes the first game after the Indians threatened to fight back. Krishna and Vishnu will need a quick start to the second game.

Vinayakk: Felt like Tanisha Crasto had to cover a little bit extra for Ishaan Bhatnagar as well physically. It might have felt on the surface like she made a few more errors but she was carrying much more of the rally load as well. That second game was a good one from the Indians, positives to take from their debut. India’s best (only?) mixed doubles hope at the moment.

Mixed doubles round of 32, Tanisha-Ishaan 14-21, 17-21 Supissara-Supak: It wasn’t to be for Tanisha and Ishaan as they lose in straight games after fighting hard in the second. They had their moments and tried to get on a roll (there were some brilliant rallies too with Tanisha leading the way) but fell short at the end.

Mixed doubles round of 32, Tanisha-Ishaan 14-21, 7-11 Supissara-Supak: Tanisha and Ishaan started the second game positively and worked their way to a 6-5 lead, but the Thai pair have fought back to take a healthy lead to the interval.

Vinayakk: Got better as the game went on, Tanisha/Ishaan. Boe said during the break to not just react but have a plan for the first few shots. Did that alright. But don’t think Ishaan is a 100%, not jumping well.

The last Indian match for the day is about to get underway as well. Krishna Prasad Garaga and Vishnuvardhan Goud Panjala are up against Fabien Delrue and William Villeger of France in the men’s doubles round of 64.

Mixed doubles round of 32, Tanisha-Ishaan 14-21 Supissara-Supak: That’s the first game in the bag for the Thai pair. Tanisha and Ishaan were much better in the second half of the game but the deficit was just too much.

Mixed doubles round of 32, Tanisha-Ishaan 2-11 Supissara-Supak: Well, it’s been a one-sided start alright. The Thai pair is playing with a great tempo and the Indians have made a number of errors.

It’s time now for some mixed doubles action as India’s Tanisha Crasto and Ishaan Bhatnagar take on 14th seeds Supissara Paewsampran and Supak Jomkoh from Thailand in the round of 32.

No trouble for Viktor Axelsen in the second game as he elevated his level while Caljouw’s dropped. The top seed is through to the round of 16...

Update: There are two Indian matches remaining for the day – the first one being mixed doubles and other men’s doubles. Tanisha Crasto and Ishaan Bhatnagar will be up first and their match will begin on Court 1 after two other matches.

Women’s doubles round of 64: India’s Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam have defeated the Italian pair of Judith Mair Martina Corsini 21-8, 21-14 in 30 minutes. They’ll face fourth seeds Kim So Yeong and Kong Hee Yong from Korea next.

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 21-19, 21-9 Cheung Ngan Yi: A dominant second game from Saina as she moved Cheung around with ease. The former finalist now gets a bye in the second round as Nozomi Okuhara has pulled out.

India’s Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam are in action too at the moment. They are facing Judith Mair Martina Corsini in the women’s doubles round of 64.

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 21-19, 11-6 Cheung Ngan Yi: Saina takes a big lead to the second game interval. Cheung seems to be struggling with the drift and has made a number of errors. The Indian veteran will need to remain alert, though. Once again, Kashyap has lots to tell her during the break.

We caught a little bit of what Parupalli Kashyap told Saina Nehwal after the first game: “Turn your hips... alert nahi hai, alert nahi hai. Lazy hai. Gussa aa jata mere ko. Jeetna nahi hai kya?”

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 21-19, 6-3 Cheung Ngan Yi: Saina won the first three points in the second game and now hits a superb cross-court winner. She’ll be in a solid position to close out this match if she can keep up the momentum for a bit longer.

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 21-19 Cheung Ngan Yi: Saina wins the first game in 20 minutes. Cheung with another error in what was a tame end to a tense opener. But credit to Saina, she didn’t really settle into a rhythm but remained focussed and made her move at just the right time.

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 19-18 Cheung Ngan Yi: An excellent drop winner from Saina to take the lead. She moved her opponent around nicely and waited for the right moment to go for that shot. Can she close out the opener?

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 16-16 Cheung Ngan Yi: Saina takes a one-point lead again as Cheung finds the net, but the Indian then hits one wide and the score is level. Both players looking rusty.

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 12-13 Cheung Ngan Yi: Cheung making Saina work hard before the Indian finds the net. It remains a close battle in the opener. Crucial few minutes coming up.

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 10-11 Cheung Ngan Yi: It’s neck and neck now with Cheung taking a slender lead to the interval. Saina has shown some great feel around the net so far and will be hoping to get on a roll now.

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 7-9 Cheung Ngan Yi: A couple of wonderful inside-out cross-court winners from Saina. That should give her confidence but she’s still trailing.

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 4-7 Cheung Ngan Yi: Saina has a bit of catching up to do in the first game after consecutive errors. She’s trying to find some rhythm but Cheung is doing well to rush her.

Vinayakk: This is a first-round match with a place in the third-round at stake (No Nozomi Okuhara in the second round). Can Saina carry some form from Singapore into this? Cheung, a former top 15 player, hasn’t been playing regularly either. As commentator Steen Pedersen says, this has an air of unpredictability around this.

Women’s singles round of 64, Saina Nehwal 2-2 Cheung Ngan Yi: Nice little lift into the corner from Saina and she gets on the board, before both players produce errors.

This will be the fifth meeting between Saina Nehwal and Cheung Ngan Yi, with the Indian leading the head-to-head 3-1 at the moment.

After that thrilling mixed doubles match on Court 1, it’s time for Saina Nehwal to take the court. The Indian legend takes on Hong Kong’s Cheung Ngan Yi in the first round.

That was a thrilling match on Court No 2. Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin edges out Malaysia’s NG Tze Yong after a rollercoaster of a match to reach the men’s singles round of 16...

We’re going to have to wait a little longer for Saina Nehwal’s match as the mixed doubles one before her’s on Court 1 has gone to a decider...

We’re not far away from Saina Nehwal’s match now...

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 21-11, 21-13 Malaysia: Highlights of Gayatri-Treesa’s win.

A short of break for Indian action now. Saina Nehwal will be on Court 1 two matches after the current one where Chou Tien Chen is nearing a win.

Mixed doubles, round of 64, India 10-21, 21-23 England: Hard luck... Venkat Gaurav Prasad and Juhi Dewangan save 5 match points but the English pair eventually convert the sixth to take this in straight games.

Mixed doubles, round of 64, India 10-21, 14-18 England: The gap is a bit closer in the 2nd game but the English leftie-duo are now three points away.

Mixed doubles, round of 64, India 10-21, 6-13 England: The English pair are cruising to a win in this one.

Mixed doubles, round of 64, India 10-21 England: Mairs/Moore take the opening game comfortably against Venkat/Juhi.

Mixed doubles, round of 64, India 8-13 England: Mairs/Moore into the early lead in this one.

Mixed doubles, round of 64, India vs England: Up next, a mixed doubles match Venkat Gaurav Prasad & Juhi Dewangan take on England’s Gregory Mairs and Jenny Moore. World No 57 vs world No 78, their first meeting.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 21-11, 21-13 Malaysia: Up next for Treesa and Gayatri is a fourth match in 2022 and the third within this month. Tan/Thinaah, the CWG champions, have a 3-0 record and the Indians will need to be at their absolute best to try and change that.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 21-11, 21-13 Malaysia: Well, that was fast & furious from the Indian teenagers. The Syed Modi SF was a long drawn out, proper WD tie, but here Treesa-Gayatri were relentless in attack from the word go and finished things off in quick time. 21-11, 21-13 in 31 mins. A little dance from Treesa at the end, Gayatri just has a wide smile. Huge (and a familiar) test awaits next, but this is a win worth being happy about!)

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 21-11, 20-12 Malaysia: Treesa’s power in full display on the service return... then a brilliant long rally that Gayatri does well to keep the shuttle in play for Treesa to finish it off.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 21-11, 18-11 Malaysia: The lead is now 7 points. Gayatri with some solid work at the net.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 21-11, 15-11 Malaysia: The points are getting exchanged now and the Malaysians are playing with a big final push it would seem, pumping themselves up. Treesa plays a super point at net to keep the lead at 4 for her side.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 21-11, 11-7 Malaysia: The points are shorter if anything in the second game... the Malaysians would have loved to play longer rallies I presume but the Indians are remaining focussed on attack, playing with wonderful confidence.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 21-11, 6-5 Malaysia: There is the sign of a response from the Siow/Low, going into an early 5-3 lead. But the Indians level things up quickly and then retake the lead on an error.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 21-11 Malaysia: The Indian teenagers wrap up the opening game in quick time. The early lead was crucial. Expect the Malaysian 20-year-olds to fight back though.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 20-10 Malaysia: Ten game points for Indians as Treesa plays another super point.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 19-10 Malaysia: The match started with a 30-plus shot rally but otherwise the pace has been rather frenetic in this one. The Indians dovetailing brilliantly. A couple of net chords helping Malaysians but the Treesa especially playing superbly at the moment.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 11-4 Malaysia: The run of six straight points at one stage and then a brilliant rally just before the interval and it is a handy lead for the young Indians.

Women’s doubles, round of 64, India 6-2 Malaysia: The Indians had won the thrilling Syed Modi Open semifinal earlier this year in three games vs the current world No 66. They have since gone on to have a great run at All England (and after a break on tour) followed by a bronze at CWG. Gayatri-Treesa are off to a good start here against Low Yeen Yuan and Valeree Siow

First up, women’s doubles... a repeat of the Syed Modi International semifinal.

Hello everyone and welcome to our live coverage of the BWF World Championships.

After a hectic opening day for Indian shuttlers, the second day is relatively low key, but all eyes will be on Saina Nehwal as she returns to action at the tournament where she has won two medals in the past. Gayatri Gopichand-Treesa Jolly, at the other end of the spectrum in the Indian badminton history, will look to make a mark on their debut.

Key updates from day one:

• Lakshya Sen begins his campaign with an impressive straight-games win against the experienced Hans-Kristian Vittinghus.
• Srikanth was tested by Nhat Nguyen but came through in two tight games.
• HS Prannoy cruised through his match, to set up a cracking second round clash vs Kento Momota.
• Sai Praneeth gave it a good go vs world No 4 Chou Tien Chen, but goes down fighting in three games.
• Ashwini Ponnappa-Sikki Reddy enter second round with easy win, defending champions Chen/Jia await next.
  
• Tanisha Crasto-Ishaan Bhatnagar through to round of 32 in mixed doubles.
• Arjun MR-Dhruv Kapila reach the men’s doubles round of 32 with a thrilling win.
• Pooja Dandu-Sanjana Santosh reach women’s doubles 2nd round.
• Malvika Bansod bows out after a straight-games loss in the women’s singles round of 64.
• Manu Attri-B Sumeeth Reddy lose in three games in the men’s doubles round of 64.

Screenshots in the blog courtesy BWF / Viacom 18 / Tournament Software

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