Indonesia Masters: Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu storm into pre-quarterfinals
Jakarta, January 21
India's ace badminton players Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth and PV Sindhu stormed into the pre-quarterfinals of the ongoing Indonesia Masters tournament on Wednesday.
In the men's singles Round of 32 match between Kidambi Srikanth and Koki Watanabe, the Indian badminton star overcame the challenge in a hard-fought one-hour and 12-minute contest to get the better of world No.22 Watanabe in a three-game set (21-15, 21-23, 24-22).
Lakshya Sen also stormed into the pre-quarter-finals after defeating Wang Tzu-wei of Taiwan in a three-game set. Sen won the opening set easily with a 21-13 score line, before his opponent fought back and clinched the second with a 16-21 score.
However, Sen showcased his class in the third set, winning 21-14 to close out the game in his favour. India's Kiran George made a first-round exit after losing 17-21, 14-21 to Moh Zaki Ubaidillah of Indonesia.
In the women's singles event, two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu overcame the challenge of Japan's Manami Suizu in a hard-fought encounter, winning 22-20, 21-18.
In the other encounter, Akarshi Kashyap was eliminated in the opening round. She lost to Julie Dawall Jakobsen 21-8, 20-22, 17-21.
India's mixed doubles campaign in the ongoing Indonesia Masters ended on a disappointing note after the pairs of Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde and Dhruv Kapila and Tanish Crasto made an exit in the very first round.
Kapoor and Gadde lost 9-21, 20-22 to the fourth seeds, Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue of France. Kapila and Crasto were defeated by Julien Maio and Lea Palermo 23-21, 20-22, 6-21.
— ANI
Reader Comments
Great to see Sindhu back in form and winning in straight games. After her injury comeback, every win like this builds momentum. The mixed doubles results are a bit worrying though.
Lakshya Sen's win was clinical! He handled the pressure in the decider so well. But we really need to work on our doubles game. The gap between singles and doubles performance is too big now.
Good start, but the tournament has just begun. Hope they conserve energy for the later rounds. The losses in the first round for others show we need more depth. All the best for the pre-quarters!
Mixed doubles exit in first round is disappointing. BAI should focus on specialized doubles coaching. Our players have the talent but need the right strategy against European pairs.
So proud of our shuttlers! Waking up to this news with my morning chai. Sindhu di, keep shining! 🥳 Let's bring the trophy home this time.
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