Xiaodong sheng

Australian Open Super: Indian shuttlers showed resilience at the USD 475,000 Australian Open Super 500 here on Wednesday, with H.S. Prannoy, Ayush Shetty, and Tharun Mannepalli fighting through tough first-round matches to reach the men’s singles second round.

Prannoy, returning to one of his favourite battlegrounds after finishing as runner-up here in 2023, had to fight his way out of early trouble. The 33-year-old looked completely out of rhythm in the opening game, losing 6-21 to world No. 85 Yohanes Saut Marcellyno.

But the Asian Games bronze medallist summoned his big-match composure, tightening his defence and controlling the rallies to dominate the next two games 21-12, 21-17 in a 57-minute contest. He now faces Indonesia’s eighth seed Alwi Farhan.