Parupalli Kashyap enters second round at Badminton Asia Championships

Wuhan, China: Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap entered the men’s singles second round with a straight games victory at the $200,000 Badminton Asia Championships on Tuesday.

Kashyap defeated old rival Derek Wong 21-17, 21-13 in 39 minutes to take a 5-2 lead in career meetings over the Singaporean and enter the second round at the Wuhan Sports Centre Gymnasium in Wuhan.

Kashyap also beat Wong in a momentous battle last year to win the Commonwealth Games gold at Glasgow.

The 28-year-old Indian will next take on Chinese Taipei’s Hsu Jen-hao, against whom he has a 2-1 advantage.

Meanwhile, Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa lost their women’s doubles first round encounter in three games at the continental championships.

The Chinese Taipei pair of Hsu Ya-Ching and Pai Yu-Po defeated the Indian duo 21-17, 15-21, 21-15 in 45 minutes to win the first contest between the two teams.