Bali: PV Sindhu and B Sai Praneeth, two of India’s best shuttlers, advanced to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 tournament on Thursday, while former champion Kidambi Srikanth was eliminated in the second round.
Sindhu cruised into the women’s singles quarterfinals with an easy straight-game victory against Germany’s Yvonne Li. Two-time Olympic medalist Sindhu dominated world No. 26 Li in the second round, winning 21-12 21-18 in 37 minutes.
For the first time, world No. 7 was pitted against Li. Sindhu appeared to be in total command from the start. The two-time Olympic medalist was so dominant that she swept the first game, winning seven consecutive points at one point. Li, on the other hand, made a valiant effort to flip the match in her favour, but Sindhu stood firm and refused to let the German gain an edge over her.
Meanwhile, Praneeth won a gruelling match against France’s world No. 70 Christo Popov, 21-17 14-21 21-19, in an hour and 23 minutes.
Srikanth’s campaign came to an end when the second seeded Axelsen beat him 21-14 21-18 in 37 minutes.
Sindhu will play Sim Yujin of South Korea in the quarterfinals. Next up for Praneeth is Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen of Denmark.
