VI Mexican International Challenge:<\/b> Krishna Prasad Garaga and Pruthvi Krishnamurthy Roy produced the standout result for India at the Arctic Open, knocking out fifth seeds He Ji Ting and Ren Xiang Yu of China to reach the men\u2019s doubles pre-quarterfinals, while experienced singles campaigners HS Prannoy and Kidambi Srikanth made early exits here on Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The unseeded Indian combination showed considerable resilience after dropping the opening game, recovering to beat the Chinese pair 10-21, 21-18, 22-20 in a 61-minute contest.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Garaga and Roy, who won the Saint-Denis Reunion Open and VI Mexican International Challenge in successive weeks in May, will next meet England\u2019s Oliver Butler and Samuel Jones for a place in the quarter-finals.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The doubles upset came on a day when India\u2019s singles campaign lost two of its most established names.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Srikanth, ranked 31st in the world, appeared on course for a strong start after taking the opening game against Canada\u2019s Brian Yang. The former world No. 1, however, could not sustain the momentum and eventually lost 15-21, 21-15, 21-13.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The result extends a difficult season for Srikanth, whose best performance on the BWF World Tour remains his runner-up finish at the US Open Super 300 in June. He has now suffered eight first-round defeats on the circuit this year.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Prannoy\u2019s challenge ended more abruptly against fourth seed Anders Antonsen. The 34-year-old Indian, who reached the Vietnam Open Super 100 semi-finals last month, was unable to impose himself against the Dane and went down 21-10, 21-9.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
India\u2019s hopes in the men\u2019s singles draw will now rest on Tharun Mannepalli, who continued his run after coming through qualifying.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Mannepalli, who entered the main draw on Tuesday, defeated Denmark\u2019s Magnus Johannesen 21-16, 21-14 to set up a second-round meeting with second seed Christo Popov of France.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Rounak Chouhan\u2019s campaign, meanwhile, ended after a hard-fought battle against China\u2019s Weng Hong Yang. Chouhan bounced back from losing the first game to level the contest, but Weng held his nerve in the decider to win 22-20, 20-22, 21-17.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Mannepalli, who entered the main draw on Tuesday, defeated Denmark\u2019s Magnus Johannesen 21-16, 21-14 to set up a second-round meeting with second seed Christo Popov of France.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> Special Cricket Stories<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n