Tell him to gain strength but not at the cost of his footwork,” says Chris Pang of Malaysia. ’ She ended with a surprise bronze — though neither the city, nor Kiran are particularly surprised. Bharadwaj had to work hard to outmanoeuvre George 21-16, 20-22, 24-22 in a match that lasted an hour and three minutes here. so that their names are uttered perfectly at next month’s Japan Open and in the lead-up to Tokyo. The contest was 25-year-old Zhang’s best showing against the tournament’s top seed but she is now winless in five matches against Pliskova. Bengal Warriors falter to draw 26-26 with UP YoddhaIn the second match of the day, home favourites B. Saina Nehwal found herself — poised to return serve — amongst an array of international names on the huge hoardings on Day 1. The Red Bulls looked tough to beat but Hamilton saved the best for the last, managing a superb lap and securing pole. was withdrawn from the doubles tournament, where he was into the third round with fellow Italian Simone Bolelli. NAME AND FAME The Japanese media is as meticulous in its preparation as Nozomi Okuhara was in winning her title.