Indian badminton stars PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen advanced to the quarterfinals of the Thailand Open Super 500 tournament on Thursday after registering convincing straight-game victories in their respective second-round matches. The tournament, carrying a prize purse of USD 500,000, witnessed strong performances from the Indian contingent, although former world number one Kidambi Srikanth suffered an early exit after a closely fought three-game battle. The results kept India’s hopes alive in both singles and doubles categories at the prestigious international event.
Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu delivered a dominant display in the women’s singles category by defeating Denmark’s Amalie Schulz 21-13, 21-15 in just 28 minutes. The sixth-seeded Indian controlled the pace of the match from the start and rarely allowed her opponent to build momentum. Sindhu’s sharp court movement and attacking returns proved decisive as she comfortably sealed her place in the last eight. She is now set to face top seed and world number three Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in what is expected to be one of the biggest quarterfinal clashes of the tournament.
In men’s singles, seventh seed Lakshya Sen also progressed with an impressive 21-12, 21-13 win over China’s Zhu Xuan Chen in a contest lasting 39 minutes. Lakshya began aggressively and quickly established an early lead before his opponent briefly leveled the opening game. However, the Indian shuttler responded strongly by winning six consecutive points to regain complete control. In the second game, Lakshya maintained his attacking rhythm and capitalized on unforced errors from the Chinese player to secure a comfortable victory and move into the quarterfinal stage.
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Lakshya will next face Thailand’s second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn in a crucial quarterfinal encounter. Meanwhile, India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also advanced to the last eight with a 21-12, 21-19 victory over Malaysia’s Bryan Jeremy Goonting and Muhammad Haikal. The Indian duo, currently ranked world number four, showcased strong coordination and composure during key moments of the match. They are scheduled to take on the Japanese combination of Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami in the quarterfinals.
The day, however, ended in disappointment for Kidambi Srikanth, who bowed out after a hard-fought three-game contest against Chinese Taipei’s Su Li Yang. Srikanth lost 16-21, 21-11, and 18-21 in a match that lasted one hour and ten minutes. Despite producing a strong comeback in the second game, the former world number one could not maintain consistency in the decider as his opponent managed to edge ahead during the closing stages.
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