Kashyap, Praneeth knocked out of China Open

Indian shuttlers Parupalli Kashyap and B Sai Praneeth were both ousted in the second round of the men's singles event at the China Open here on Thursday.

Praneeth fought hard for one hour 24 minutes against fourth seed Anders Antonsen of Denmark. The world number 11 Indian went down 20-22 22-20 21-16.

Earlier Kashyap, ranked 25 in the world, ran out of steam after a decent start against seventh seed Victor Axelsen and went down 13-21 19-21 in a match that lasted 43 minutes. Praneeth's loss marked the end of India's singles campaign.

This is the second time Kashyap has lost to Axelsen this year. The former Commonwealth Games champion Kashyap, who reached the semifinals at India Open and Korea Open earlier this year, had lost to the world number six at the India Open in March.

It was the end of the road for the mixed doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa, too. The unseeded Indian duo lost 21-23 16-21 to the fifth seed South Korean combine of Seo Seung Jae and Chae Yujung.