Changzhou: P Kashyap held on to his nerve to edge out Chinese qualifier Huan Gao in a three game match to enter the second round of the Li Ning China Masters badminton tournament here on Wednesday.
The eighth-seeded Kashyap, who made it to the quarter-finals of 2012 London Olympics, won the match 21-13, 14-21, 21-19. The match lasted for an hour and 18 minutes of slogging.
Kashyap will now take on compatriot Gurusai Dutt beat Malaysia's Muhammad Hafiz Hashim 21-18, 19-21, 21-13.
Meanwhile Ajay Jayaram scored a spectacular win over third-seeded Japanese Kenichi Tago 21-13, 21-17, another Indian Sourabh Verma beat Malaysia's Daren Liew 9-21, 21-17, 21-12 to cruise into the next round.
From the women’s category, P V Sindhu, the lone Indian in the competition too had a good day and registered a comfortable 21-15, 21-12 victory over American Jamie Subandhi.
Sindhu would now face Thailand’s Porntip Buranaprasertsuk in the second round.
Anand Pawar was the only Indian who lost in the singles event. He was defeated 17-21, 12-21 by the second-seeded Chinese Jin Chen.
By Indian Sports News Network
