New Zealand Open: HS Prannoy advances into quarter-finals

Indian shuttler HS Prannoy advanced to the men's singles quarter-finals of the New Zealand Open on Thursday as he defeated Tommy Sugiarto 21-14, 21-12 in the second round. The unseeded Prannoy stunned second seed Sugiarto in a match that lasted just 37 minutes.

Prannoy will next face the fifth seed Kanta Tsuneyama of Japan in the quarter-finals. B Sai Praneeth was not able to advance to the quarter-finals as he suffered a defeat in the second round. He was defeated 12-21, 12-21 by China's Lin Dan.

Lin Dan progressed to the next stage of the tournament and now he will take on Indonesia's Anthony Sinisuka Ginting in the quarter-finals. The Indian men's doubles pair of Manu Attri and Sumeeth B Reddy also suffered a defeat in the second round as they were knocked out of the tournament by seventh seeds Goh V Shem and Tan Wee Kiong of Malaysia. The duo lost the match 17-21, 19-21.

India's star shuttler Saina Nehwal faced a shocking defeat in the first round of New Zealand Open on Wednesday. She was defeated by world number 212 Wang Zhiyi of China. (ANI)