Sindhu enters second round of Singapore Open

Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu staved off a stiff challenge from 2016 All England champion Nozomi Okuhara of Japan to make a positive start to her campaign at the Singapore Open here on Wednesday.

Sindhu, who had clinched her maiden India Open Super Series title earlier this month, fought back from a game down to eke out a 10-21, 21-15, 22-20 win in the opening round of a women’s singles match that lasted an hour and two minutes here.

The fifth seeded Indian will face Indonesian Fitriani Fitriani next.

Runners-up at Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold in January, B Sai Praneeth also dished out a gritty performance to prevail 17-21, 21-7, 21-19 over Denmark’s Emil Holst.

The Indian will clash with China’s Qiao Bin on Thursday.

New pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy also showed their prowess in a fighting 21-19, 21-19 win over Malaysian combo of Yin Loo Lim and Yap Cheng Wen in women’s doubles competition.