French Open: Wins for Sindhu, Prannoy

Paris, Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy advanced to the second round with straight-game wins but it was curtains for Ajay Jayaram in the $300,000 French Open Super Series badminton tournament here today.
In a 45-minute contest, Sindhu, who had suffered a loss in the second round in Denmark Open last week, dished out a gritty performance to prevail 21-9 29-27 over Hong Kong’s Yip Pui Yin.
Swiss Open champion Prannoy beat Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana 21-16 21-18 in a 41-minute clash to set up a clash against Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen, seeded fifth. However, it turned out to be a disappointing day for Jayaram who squandered a one-game advantage to go down fighting 20-22 21-10 21-18 to Anthony Sinisuka Ginting of Indonesia. Sindhu was trailing 2-6 in the opening game but the Indian turned the tables with six straight points and then moved ahead with another six-point and five-point bursts before pocketing it comfortably.
The second game, however, turned out to be an edge-of-the-seat thriller. Yip took the lead at 15-13 and 19-16. Sindhu then changed gears and what ensued next was a tough neck-and-neck battle as the duo moved from 19-19 to 26-26. At 26-27, Sindhu reeled off three consecutive points to storm into the second round.
Harika wins
Cap d’Agde (France): Grandmaster Harika Dronavalli won a complex game against Spain’s Sabrina Vega Gutierrez and drew against local favourite Matthieu Cornette on Day 5 of the 14th Anatoly Karpov Rapid International Chess Tournament here.
In her earlier battles with the same players, the Guntur girl had beaten Gutierrez and could only manage a draw against Cornette. She has played 10 games so far and has kept herself in contention for the knockouts by picking up crucial points.
“In the first game, I found myself in an unclear set-up,” Harika said. “My opponent Sabrina opened her game with French defence and I had to take some risks in the complex battle. I won a pawn in the middle game and outplayed her slowly. I was finally able to convert it into a point later on.”
“In the second game, I opened with white pieces but made a mistake in the opening and found myself in an uncomfortable position. So, when I got the opportunity at the midway stage, I repeated my moves and forced a draw,” she added.