Orleans Masters badminton: B Sai Praneeth advances to pre-quarters

Indian shuttler B Sai Praneeth advanced to the men's singles Round of 16 at the Orleans Masters 2022 Super 100 badminton tournament after beating Czech Republic's Jan Louda on Wednesday.

Praneeth, World No.19 in the badminton world rankings, registered a comfortable 21-19, 21-12 win over Louda.

Playing against Louda, ranked 122nd in the world, the Indian had to work hard in the opener but the former world championships bronze medallist was in cruise control in the second game and wrapped up the affair in 40 minutes. Earlier, Praneeth started his men's singles campaign directly from the round of 32 after receiving a bye in the first round.

In women's singles, India's Anupama Upadhyaya and Ira Sharma both crossed their Round 2 hurdles. While Anupama beat Switzerland's Jenjira Stadelmann 21-12, 21-18, world No. 91 Ira Sharma upset France's Qi Xuefei 21-14, 21-17.

However, the promising Ashmita Chaliha was ousted by Indonesia's Putri Kusuma Wardani, who won the contest 21-17, 19-21, 21-14.

Meanwhile, Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto registered a 21-8, 21-10 win over compatriots Ashith Surya and Swetaparna Panda.

In the other Indian results at Orleans Masters, Nithin HV-Rutaparna Panda lost 11-21, 17-21 to Jun Liang Andy Kwek-Yujia Jin (Singapore) in the mixed doubles event while Rituparna Das also lost 18-21, 17-21 to Lauren Lam (USA) in the women's singles.

Notably, many big names from the Indian camp like Kidambi Srikanth, Lakshya Sen, PV Sindhu and Saina Nehwal are not competing at the tournament in France.