Parupalli Kashyap, HS Prannoy, Sourabh Verma and Siril Verma all won their respective second-round matches to move into the pre-quarterfinals of the New Zealand Grand Prix Gold tournament in Auckland on Wednesday.
The fourth seeded Prannoy beat unseeded Indonesian Firman Adbul Kholik in straight games, although he faced a stiff challenge from his opponent in the opening game of the match. The scores of both players were tied at 21-all, before the Indian broke the deadlock to lead the match 23-21. The second set was also tight, but Prannoy clinched it 21-18. In the third round, the fourth seeded Indian will face 10th seed Nan Wei of Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, an all-Indian third-round match will be contested between the seventh seeded Sourabh Verma and 17th seeded Parupalli Kashyap. Verma defeated Indonesia’s Henrikho Kho Wibowo in the second round with a scoreline of 21-15, 21-17. Kashyap had a relatively easier route into the third round with a 21-9, 21-8 win over New Zealander Oscar Guo.
Sixteenth seed Siril Verma also took his place in the round-of-16 with a straight-games win over Indonesia Saputra Vicky Angga. Verma won 21-14, 21-16, and will next play Chinese Taipei’s Chia Hung Lu in the last-16.
There were, however, a few losses for Indians as well on Wednesday. Pratul Joshi lost to the top seed, Tzu Wei Wang of Chinese Taipei, in the second round. Wei Wang won in straight games 21-13, 24-22 to reach the pre-quarterfinals. Wei Wang’s compatriot, the 11th seeded Yu Hsien Lin, beat Sahil Sipani 21-9, 21-8 in their second-round match. Australia’s Anthony Joe defeated Neeraj Vashist 21-16, 21-13.
