CWG: Saina, Sindhu, Srikanth, Prannoy, Satwik-Ashwini in pre-quarters

Gold Coast April 11 (IANS) India s star singles shuttlers and the mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa advanced to the pre-quarterfinls of the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Wednesday.

Rio Olympics silver medallist P.V. Sindhu thrashed Fiji s Andra Whiteside 21-6 21-3 while 2012 bronze medallist Saina Nehwal routed South African Elsie De Villiers 21-3 21-1.

Three-time World championship medallist Sindhu will meet Wendy Chen Hsuan-yu in the next round while Saina s challenger will be Jessica Li of the Isle of Man.

Sindhu didn t play any matches during India s gold medal-winning run in the mixed team competition.

She had suffered a minor ankle injury during training back home before leaving for Australia.

Third women s singles shuttler Ruthvika Gadde beat Ghana s Grace Atipaka 21-15 21-7. Ruthvika will meet Singapore s Jia Min Yeo in the next round.

In the men s singles Round-of-32 H.S. Prannoy beat Mauritius Jean Paul Christopher 21-14 21-6 while Kidambi Srikanth beat Mauritius Aatish Lubah 21-13 21-10.

On Thursday Prannoy will battle it out with Anthony Joe while Srikanth will face Niluka Karunaratne of Sri Lanka.

The mixed doubles pair of Satwik and Ashwini beat England s Ben Lane and Jessica Pugh 21-17 21-16.

The Indian pair will meet Canada s Kristen Tsai and Nyl Yakura on Thursday for a place in the quarter-finals.

Satwik will also be in action in the men s doubles partnering Chirag Shetty. They will take on Mauritius Christopher and Lubah for a place in the quarter-finals.

Ashwini will also be seen playing in the women s doubles Round-of-16 partnering N. Sikki Reddy. The Indian pair will meet Singapore s Ong Ren-Ne and Jia Ying Crystal Wong

--IANS
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