Gopichand advances
into second round

Pulella Gopichand successfully negotiated the first round at the $180,000 Yonex Japan Open badminton championships in Tokyo on Wednesday.

The 2001 All England champion, who is seeded joint-ninth in the tournament, defeated Lai Kuan-hung of Chinese Taipei 7-4, 7-3, 8-6 to move in to the second round.

The Indian ace has had an indifferent season so far, failing to make a mark on the international scene after a knee injury. He failed to defend his All England crown, being ousted in the second round.

Xuanze Xia of China is the top seed, while Chen Hong, also of China, is seeded second.

Gopichand will meet Hendrawan of Indonesia next. Hendrawan defeated Nakanishi Yousuke of Japan 7-5, 7-2, 7-4 in his first round match.

The Japan Open is the last international Grand Prix tournament before the Thomas-Uber Cup finals, which will be played in Guangzhou from May 9 to 19.