New Delhi: India’s leading badminton stars PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen advanced to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters after delivering composed straight game victories in their respective round of 16 matches on Thursday. The Super 500 tournament, with a prize purse of USD 500,000, continues to see strong Indian representation in the latter stages.
Lakshya Sen produced a dominant performance in men’s singles, brushing aside Hong Kong China’s Jason Gunawan in just over thirty minutes. The 24 year old from Almora controlled the contest from the opening rally, winning 21-10, 21-11 with a blend of sharp attacking strokes and solid court coverage. His win underlined his growing consistency on the international circuit following a successful previous season. Lakshya now faces Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul, a rising talent who caused a major upset by eliminating Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia earlier in the tournament.
In women’s singles, two time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu overcame Denmark’s Line Hojmark Kjaerfeldt in a closely fought encounter. Sindhu held her nerve in crucial moments to seal a 21-19, 21-18 victory in a match lasting over forty minutes. The win extended her strong head to head record against the Dane and showcased her improving rhythm as the season progresses.
Sindhu now faces a tough challenge in the quarterfinals against China’s Chen Yu Fei, the tournament’s top seed and world number four. The rivalry between the two has been closely contested over the years, with only a narrow margin separating them. Sindhu will be keen to break her recent run against the Chinese star and push deeper into the tournament.
Elsewhere, former world number one Kidambi Srikanth exited the competition after a straight game loss to Chinese Taipei’s Chou Tien Chen, struggling to find consistency throughout the match. In women’s singles, young Anmol Kharb put up a spirited fight against former world champion Nozomi Okuhara before bowing out in three games.
India’s men’s doubles challenge also came to an end as Hariharan Amsakarunan and M R Arjun went down fighting against the third seeded Malaysian pair in a closely contested match.
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