BWF World Championships, day one as it happened: Sameer loses after Srikanth, Prannoy, Sai’s wins

K Srikanth 17-21 Nhat Nguyen

WOW. JUST WOW. From 7-14 down, 19-year-old Nguyen has stormed back to win 14 off the next 17 points to take the opening game. Extraordinary scenes, really. Srikanth looks like a man devoid of any form at the moment.

K Srikanth 17-18 Nhat Nguyen

UNBELIEVABLE! At 17-17, it looked like Srikanth was about to kill the point at the net. An attempted flat push at the net, takes the chord but is still good enough on most days for a point. But Nguyen instinctively blocks the shuttle and gets it back in! Srikanth is stunned. Nguyen into the lead!

K Srikanth 16-16 Nhat Nguyen

From 7-14, it’s 16-16! “This is amazing,” observe the commentators as errors creep into Srikanth’s game big time.

K Srikanth 15-12 Nhat Nguyen

Srikanth has all the momentum after a break as he goes into a six-point lead at 15-9. Nguyen tries a little bit of gamesmanship perhaps to challenge a call and break the momentum. And soon enough, closes the gap down to three points. Five of the last 6 points to Nguyen.

K Srikanth 11-6 Nhat Nguyen

Srikanth with a few more errors than he would have liked to make but it is still good enough for a five-point lead at the mid-game interval. Steady start by the Indian.

K Srikanth 8-4 Nhat Nguyen

First long rally of the match (28 shots) at 3-6 and Srikanth does well to keep his composure and finish it off with a flat push at the net. Another long rally follows, this time the Indian sends the shuttle wide but makes amends by pouncing at the net next point.

K Srikanth 6-2 Nhat Nguyen

Srikanth has started the match on the front foot. Looking sharp in the early exchanges.

K Srikanth 0-0 Nhat Nguyen

Srikanth to serve against the 19-year-old... here we go.

9.41 pm: Srikanth really needs a turnaround in 2019 after what has been a disappointing season, marred by poor form and injuries. He has made it to only one final so far this year. How deep will he go here in Basel? The players are out on the court.

9.32 pm: Right, the wait is almost over. Srikanth is next in action as this women’s doubles match draws to a close.

K Srikanth’s first round

Former world No 1 Srikanth, who had reached the India Open finals in March, will look to put up a good show after recovering from a knee problem which he suffered ahead of the Sudirman Cup.

The seventh seeded Indian, who has gone without a title in the BWF World Tour for the last 22 months, will open against Nhat Nguyen of Ireland in a repeat of the opening clash of the 2018 edition.

Opponent’s rank: 81

Head-to-head: Srikanth leads 1-0

Previous meetings: Srikanth defeated Nguyen at 2018 World Championships 21-15, 21-16.

8.39 pm: Lin Dan definitely had more gas in the tank and much more guile as he breaks Tien Minh Nguyen’s resolve to win 16-21, 21-12, 21-12 in 78 minutes to set up a second round clash against HS Prannoy

8.15 pm: Lin Dan is in the zone now and he has wrapped up the second game in no time. Looks favourite to progress now.

7.52 pm: The commentators mention a pertinent point... 2020 being an Olympics year, this is in all likelihood Lin Dan’s last World Championships. And he needs to inspire himself to make a comeback in this first round fixture. Leading 6-3 in the second game.

7.46 pm: The Vietnamese veteran has taken the first game 21-16 against Lin Dan in just 25 minutes! Will Lin Dan make another one of those typical comebacks? Or is there an upset on the cards?

7.18 pm: The greatest men’s singles player to grace the World Championships is next up in action... five-time champion Lin Dan, making his 12th appearance at the event! He faces Tien Minh Nguyen. There is Indian interest here, as the winner will take on HS Prannoy.

7.16 pm: End of an era for British badminton as Rajiv Ouseph takes a bow after a first round defeat against the in-form Jonatan Christie. Lovely embrace at the net between the two after the final point.

5.50 pm: A new session is underway in Basel on Court No 1 where both the remaining Indian shuttlers are in action. Srikanth and Sameer Verma will be on the broadcast but not anytime soon.

Till then, read our tournament preview here.

5.22 pm: If you are just joining us, here’s a detailed report of India’s results on day one at the Worlds.

Sai Praneeth, HS Prannoy move into second round with contrasting wins

5.05 pm: Here are some key results in the last few minutes. Chen Long was stretched a bit in his opening round win, while Kento Momota cruised ahead.

HS Prannoy vs Eutu Heino 17-21, 21-10, 21-11

The former top-10 player took his time to get going, and bounces back after losing the opener in convincing fashion. Prannoy never let go of the lead in the decider. He moves into the 2nd round after a 17-21, 21-10, 21-11 win.

HS Prannoy vs Eutu Heino 17-21, 21-10, 17-11

Prannoy has been in the lead throughout the decider and has clearly found his groove in time. Just four points away now.

HS Prannoy vs Eutu Heino 17-21, 21-10, 11-8

Prannoy is clearly in the driver’s seat now. He has taken a four point lead as the players change sides in the third and final game and the Indian will be playing from his more favoured side now.

HS Prannoy vs Eutu Heino 17-21, 21-10

Prannoy has raced through the second game. He took off from 5-5 and Heino could manage to win just five points thereafter as the Indian forces a decider.

HS Prannoy vs Eutu Heino 17-21, 11-5

The beast has turned on the heat in the second game. After staying neck and neck till 5-5, Prannoy has clinched six straight points to take a 11-5 lead in the second game interval.

HS Prannoy vs Eutu Heino 17-21

Are we looking at an upset? Prannoy saved two game points in the first game but he clearly hasn’t got going in the first game. Not sure whether he isn’t comfortable with the court conditions or just struggling to find his rhythm.

HS Prannoy vs Eetu Heino 8-11

Not a good start for Prannoy in the opening match. The world No 30 would have been expected to brush past an opponent who is ranked 63 places below him in world ranking. But he lost six straight points after leading 5-3 and now has a three point deficit at the mid game interval.

3.53 pm: Right, time for HS Prannoy to begin his campaign in Basel.

3.40 pm:

HS Prannoy

A last minute addition to the tournament after the withdrawals of Viktor Axelsen and Shi Yuqi, Prannoy will hope to make the most of his chance. He starts off with a very winnable fixture against Eetu Heino (Finland). This is their first meeting as well on the circuit.

Opponent’s rank: 93

Head-to-head: No previous meetings

3.15 pm: As we wait for the next Indian shuttler to take the court, read up on a list of stars who are missing in action: Carolina Marin, Viktor Axelsen and other missing stars from Basel 2019

Here are some of the other important results so far from day one:

Men’s Singles: Heo Kwang Wee beat Milan Ludik 21-14, 21-12

Mixed Doubles: Takuro Hoki and Wakana Naghara beat Adam Hall and Julie Macpherson 21-13, 21-17

Women’s Doubles: Selena Piek and Cheryl Seinen beat NG Wing Yung and Yeung Nga Ting 21-11, 21-16

Men’s Singles: Wang Tzu Wei beat Rosario Maddaloni 21-6, 21-16

Mixed Doubles: Choi Solgyu and Seo Seung Jae beat Chung Yonny and Tam Chun Hei 21-11, 21-18

B Sai Praneeth vs Jason Ho-Shue 21-17, 21-16

Sai was once again guilty of lowering his guard and that allowed Ho-Shue to win a few quick points. He may be inexperienced but he has the shots to trouble the top players. Sai finally wraps up the match on the second match points.

He will now face the winner of the match between Korea’s Lee Dong Keun and Daniel Fan.

B Sai Praneeth vs Jason Ho-Shue 21-17, 18-10

A flurry from cross court smashes from the back hand side ensure that Sai has now won seven of the eight points after restart. Now the real challenge for the Indian is not to allow his opponent to come back in this match.

B Sai Praneeth vs Jason Ho-Shue 21-17, 11-9

Sai hasn’t looked in control in this match so far, something he was expected to do against a player ranked 47 places below him. But he has managed to keep his nose ahead by executing a few quality strokes when under pressure.

B Sai Praneeth vs Jason Ho-Shue 21-17

Sai uses his experience to wrap up the opening game in 18 minutes. But Ho-Shue has shown that he is no pushover and Sai cannot lower his guard in the second game.

B Sai Praneeth vs Jason Ho-Shue 18-15

Sai lowered the guard a bit, trying to play some tight shots and made unforced errors. That allowed Ho-Shue to get back in the game and the Canadian has used his powerful smashes and ability to rush to the net well to close the gap to just three points with eight consecutive points. Sai finally breaks that spell with a good challenge.

B Sai Praneeth vs Jason Ho-Shue 17-7

Sai strings together a series of 9 consecutive points to take complete control of the first game.

B Sai Praneeth vs Jason Ho-Shue 11-7

Sai clearly struggled with control during the initial exchanges. But he seems to be finding his rhythm now as he takes a four point lead at the mid game interval.

Sai Praneeth, the 2017 Singapore Open champion, will kick off his campaign against Canada’s Jason Anthony Ho-Shue in the opening round. This is the first time the two players will be facing off.

Time for Sai Praneeth to take court now after Wang Tzu Wei defeats Rosario Maddaloni 21-6, 21-16 in just 34 minutes in the men’s singles first round match.

A winning start for India in the World Championship as J Meghana and Poorvisha S Ram ease through to the second round with a straight games win over Gautemala’s Diana Soto and Nikte Sotomayor.

Hello everyone and welcome to live updates from day one of the 2019 Badminton World Championships in Basel.

Indian athletes will be competing in five matches on the opening day of the event.

In men’s singles, Sameer Verma will be in action against Loh Kean Yew. This will be an interesting match and will pose a tough challenge for the Indian tenth seed.

Top ranked Indian Kidambi Srikanth will square-off against Nhat Nguyen of Ireland while16th seed B Sai Praneeth taking on Jason Anthony Ho-Shue. Rounding up India’s challenge on day one will be HS Prannoy as he faces Eetu Heino.

In women’s doubles, Meghana Jakkampudi and Poorvisha S Ram will face Diana Corleto Soto and Nikte Alejandra Sotomayor.