DOHA, March 12 — India's PV Sindhu made a winning start at the All England badminton championships in Birmingham yesterday.

Sindhu, the 2019 world champion and the silver medallist at the 2016 Rio Olympics, defeated Beiwen Zhang of the United States 21-14, 21-17.

The 24-year-old Sindhu will face Korea's Sung Ji-hyun in the second round.

In the mixed doubles, the top-seeded Chinese pair of Zheng Si Wei and Huang Ya Qiong beat India's Pranaav Jerry Chopra and N Sikki Reddy 21-13, 11-21, 21-17. 

Home favourites Chris and Gabby Adcock lost to Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Widjaja of Indonesia.

The husband-and-wife team were beaten 21-19, 17-21, 21-12 by the eighth seeds in the mixed doubles. — AFP