PV Sindhu In Quarter-Finals Saina Out

Former world champion PV Sindhu went through to the quarter-finals of the women’s singles of the India Open 2022 at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi on Thursday.

The Indian badminton star beat youngster Ira Sharma 21-10, 21-10 in the round of 16.

The match was competitive in the opening stages as Ira Sharma kept pace with PV Sindhu, even taking the lead at one point. However, at 7-7, PV Sindhu surged ahead, never to concede her points lead.

The second game was much more straightforward as the two-time Olympic medallist raced to a 14-4 lead before Ira Sharma pulled back a few points. However, no comeback was forthcoming as the world No. 7 wrapped up an easy victory.

PV Sindhu’s next opponent is the impressive Ashmita Chaliha, who beat Frenchwoman Yaelle Hoyaux 21-17, 21-14 in the second round.

Ashmita Chaliha, the 2019 South Asian Games champion, had stunned fifth seed Evgeniya Kosetskaya in the opening round.

Youngster Malvika Bansod went through to the quarter-finals after a 21-17, 21-9 win over London 2012 bronze-medallist Saina Nehwal.

Saina Nehwal had won her first-round clash after her opponent retired midway. The former world No. 1 also made a comeback after a few months out due to injury and is not fully fit yet.

World championships bronze-medallist Lakshya Sen beat Sweden’s Felix Burestedt 21-12, 21-15 while Olympian pair Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy defeated Shyam Prasad/S Sunjith 21-9, 21-18.

Meanwhile, world No. 25 Sameer Verma was forced to retire with a calf strain while trailing 4-2 against Canada’s Brian Yang.

World champion Loh Kean Yew also advanced to the last eight with a 21-12, 21-12 win over Soong Joo Ven.

Veterans Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan progressed after beating Bhaskar Chakraborty/Kapil Chaudhary 21-17, 21-9.

As many as 11 matches were called off on Thursday at the India Open as seven shuttlers, including Kidambi Srikanth and Ashwini Ponnappa, tested positive for COVID-19.