Seeds get bye into second round

All the seeded players in the men's and women's section got a bye into the second round of singles in the 66th National Badminton Championships being held in Lucknow.

In the men's section, four players each from Railways and Maharashtra moved into the second round with easy victories in their opening encounters.

In the women's section two players each from Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam, Chandigarh and Gujarat moved ahead with posting easy wins.

Petroleum Sports Control Board's Chetan Anand is the top seed among men and he is expected to face stiff challenge from teammate Abhin Shaym Gupta and Railways' Sachin Ratti for the top prize of one lakh rupees.

In womens' section, PSCB's Aparna Popat and P V V Laxmi are the top two seeds.