Out of the three men shuttlers for India in action during the second round of the World Badminton Championships being played in Jakarta, Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy have progressed to the second round of the competition while Parupalli Kashyap is out of the competition.
Kashyap, who was impressive in the first round, met a tough competitor in Vietnam's Tien Minh Nguyen, who came back from one set down to win the match 2 sets to 1. The score read 21-17, 13-21 and 18-21.
One cannot blame the Indian for the defeat, as the Vietnam player raised his game to a new level in the second and third sets to progress to the pre-quarters of the competition. Though Kashyap has lost the game, his performance in the court reflected his aggressive nature, where he gave Tien Minh a run for his money occasionally.
May be it was Tien Minh defence, which proved to be a huge factor in the match, as the Vietnam star began to take control of the game in the latter stages. Tien Minh is expected to meet Kento Momota in the pre-quarters.
India will now depend on HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth to help grab a medal in the championships.
HS Prannoy brushed off competition from Edwin Ekiring in straight sets 21-14 and 21-19 to register a spectacular win.
HS Prannoy has looked in good touch, but will have his work cut out as he will face seventh seed Viktor Axelsen from Denmark for a slot in the round of 8.
Even Kidambi Srikanth did not break much sweat as the third seeded Indian shuttler defeated Hsu Jen Hao in straight sets. The score read 21-14 and 21-15.
Like Prannoy, Srikanth will also face a tough opponent in Hu Yun, who is the 13th seed in the competition.
In the women's singles Saina Nehwal will be in action later during the day.
