Anand, Bhat make the cut

Former national champions Chetan Anand and Arvind Bhat moved into the main draw of the USD 200,000 India Open Super Series after beating their respective opponents in the men's singles qualification rounds at the Siri Fort Sports Complex here yesterday.

Chetan Anand

Anand saw off challenges from compatriots Abhimanyu Singh and Sameer Verma in the first and the second qualifying rounds. Anand won the first match 21-17, 21-12 and the second 22-20, 11-21, 21-13.

Bhat thrashed Pisit Poodchalat of Thailand 22-20, 21-19 before winning a hard-fought battle against compatriot Aditya Prakash 20-22, 21-14, 21-18 in the final qualifying round.

Sridhar falters against Prannoy
Meanwhile, another former national champion Anup Sridhar could not make it to the main round after he lost his second qualifying match to HS Prannoy of Kerala.u00a0Sridhar dished out a dominating performance against Mohit Kamat 21-11, 21-12 but lost to Prannoy 17-21, 14-21.

Prannoy had it easy in the first match as his opponent Vikas Harsha conceded the match with the score reading 21-9, 1-0. u00a0u00a0Among the women, former national champion Trupti Murgunde, Rituparna Das, Saili Rane all cruised into the main draw.