Commonwealth Games champion Parupalli Kashyap emerged the lone survivor at the Japan Open in an otherwise disappointing day for India which saw top shuttlers Saina Nehwal and Kidambi Srikanth make an early exit from the Super Series badminton tournament, in Tokyo, on Thursday.
Unseeded Kashyap prevailed over world No. 4 Srikanth 21-11, 21-19 in an all-Indian men's singles contest, which lasted 45 minutes, to set up a clash with sixth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei on Friday.
Kashyap, ranked eighth in the world, has a 2-1 record against the world No. 7, who had beaten him at the All-England this year.
It also turned out to be a dismal day for world No. 1 Saina and world No. 12 H S Prannoy as both failed to get past the second round.
Saina, the recent World Championships' silver medallist, was beaten 13-21, 16-21 by local star and world No. 18 Minatsu Mitani in the women's singles, while Prannoy failed to put it across Korea's Lee Dong Keun, going down 9-21, 16-21.
In a repeat of the Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold final, Kashyap and Srikanth clashed at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium and the world No. 10 came up with a sharp display to stump his fellow-Indian.
It was a gruelling battle for the first six points but Kashyap soon opened up a 9-6 lead and kept increasing it. Srikanth failed to catch up and allowed the senior pro to pocket the first game.
In the second, Kashyap again led 4-1, but Srikanth caught up with a three-point burst and turned tables after reeling five straight points at 8-8.
Srikanth dominated most part of the match after that, but a gritty Kashyap produced a six-point burst when trailing 15-19 to slam the door on his younger colleague.
