India At Singapore Open: PV Sindhu, Satwik-Chirag Advance To Second Round

Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu advanced to the second round of the women’s singles competition with an impressive straight-game win over fifth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani at the Singapore Open on Tuesday.

The 30-year-old two-time Olympic medallist produced a composed performance to outwit the World No. 6 Indonesian 21-17 21-18 in the opening round of the USD 10,00,000 Super 750 tournament.

The former world champion will next face Japan’s Riko Gunji.

Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also progressed after battling past world No. 25 Malaysia’s Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith 26-28 21-15 21-13 in the men’s doubles opening round.

The world No. 4 Indian pair will take on either Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan or China’s Liu Yang and Huang Di in the next round.

However, rising Indian shuttler Ayush Shetty, a finalist at Asia Championships, bowed out after going down 21-11 14-21 12-21 to world championships bronze medallist Viktor Axelsen in a 65-minute men’s singles clash.

Young Unnati Hooda, who has won three Super 100 titles in last four years, too suffered an early exit, losing 14-21 10-21 to former world junior champion and eighth seed Tomoka Miyazaki in women’s singles.

In women’s doubles, India’s Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi went down 21-18 13-21 5-21 to Spain’s Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez to bow out in 48 minutes, while Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam lost 16-21 11-21 to Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun.

Japan’s seventh-seeded pair of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi got the better of India’s Hariharan Amsakarunan and M. R. Arjun 21-15 21-13 in another men's doubles match, while mixed doubles pair of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde lost 18-21 20-22 to Chinese Taipei’s Yang Po Han and Hu Ling Fang in another first round clash.

Sindhu Vs Wardani

It was a morale-boosting win for Sindhu, who had lost to the Indonesian twice last year at the World Championships and the Sudirman Cup.

On Tuesday, the world No. 11 Indian raced to a 4-0 lead before Wardani fought back to level at 7-7 and later moved ahead 15-11.

However, PV Sindhu responded strongly, reeling off six of the last seven points to pocket the opening game.

The second game turned into a closely-fought battle with both players exchanging the lead frequently. Sindhu managed to open up a slender 13-11 advantage but Wardani again drew level.

The Indian, though, stayed composed in the closing stages and held her nerve in a tense finish to seal the contest.

Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and Malvika Bansod will begin their campaigns on Wednesday.