Indian shuttlers make impressive start
AGENCIES

KYOTO, JULY 23: Indian boys started on a strong note with all five players advancing to the second round of the boys' singles event in the Asian Junior Badminton Championships here on Sunday.

Akshay Thakkar and Nishad Dravid were impressive in their wins over their Japanese opponents. Thakkar beat Masahiro Nakatani 15-3, 15-6 while Dravid blanked Mikito Oguni 15-0, 15-0. In other match, Ajit Phatak had no trouble getting the better of Ibrahim Samiu of Maldives 15-4, 15-4.

The other two Indians SDS Krishna and Amar Mohite also moved up without having to stretch, getting walkover from their respective opponents.

Meanwhile, China avenged their loss to Indonesia in last year's boys' team final by scoring a 3-0 win to make it a double victory with their girls' team.

The top-seeded Chinese girls, who defeated Sri Lanka and Taiwan on their way to the final, coasted to straightforward singles victories over the second-seeded South Korea through Wei Yan, Yu Jin and Wang Rong.

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