“We thought the hall was big, so the shuttle might travel a little bit slower, but I think it was quick, and also there was a little bit of drift or sideways, but I think again, first round, it’s always that we have to adapt to the situations,” he added.
“He’s a really, really good opponent, and I had to come really prepared for the match. I’m just taking one match at a time, so I’m not thinking too wide, just focusing on the next match,” he added further.
In the pre-quarterfinal, the 24-year-old from Almora will take on Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto, who progressed after fellow Japanese player and seventh seed Kodai Naraoka retired while trailing 6-21, 6-7.
Treesa-Gayatri hammer Ornnicha-Sukitta
In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who defended their title at the Syed Modi International last December, also made a positive start, notching up a 21-15, 21-11 win over Thailand’s Ornnicha Jongsathapornparn and Sukitta Suwachai.
The Indian pair will now face the seventh-seeded Chinese duo of Li Yi Jing and Luo Xu Min, who defeated USA’s Francesca Corbett and Jennie Gai 21-12, 21-8.
In men’s doubles, Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun overcame the first-round hurdle with a 21-15, 21-18 win over Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi and Ong Yew Sin to set up a clash with fourth seeds Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang of China.
India’s top men’s doubles pair, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, seeded third, also progressed without taking the court after receiving a walkover from USA’s Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith.
National women’s doubles championship finalists Shruti Mishra and Priya Konjengbam saved five match points but failed to capitalise on the lone match point they earned, losing 21-11, 20-22, 24-22 to Hong Kong’s Lui Lok Lok and Tsang Hiu Yan in one hour and eight minutes.
In mixed doubles, Dhruv Rawat and Maneesha K. went down 9-21, 10-21 to Japan’s Hiroki Midorikawa and Nami Matsuyama.