Lakshya Sen upset Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-18, 21-15 and PV Sindhu had it easy against Talia Ng of Canada 21-16, 21-9 in the first round of the Canada Open BWF Super 500 tournament being played in Calgary on Wednesday.
While Sindhu's victory was on expected lines, Lakshya's straight game win against the second seed and the highest ranked player of the tournament will bolster the confidence of the young shuttler, who is competing with Kidambi Srikanth to qualify for the Paris Olympics.
With this victory Lakshya has become one of the favourites to win the title. Top seed Viktor Axelsen of Denmark had withdrawn before the first round.
Meanwhile, Ygor Coelho prevented an all-Indian pre-quarterfinal. The Brazilian defeated former world championship bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth in straight games 21-12, 21-17. World No. 19 Lakshya enjoys a 3-0 record against the world No. 58.
In the second round, Sindhu will face Natsuki Nidaira of Japan. The world No. 15 Indian defeated the world No. 27 Japanese in 2016. This would be the second meeting between the two shuttlers.
The other Indian in women's singles, Gadde Ruthvika Shivani came a cropper against Supanida Katethong of Thailand 21-12, 21-3.
