Singapore Open: Sindhu, HS Pranoy make it to quarterfinals; Nehwal breaks losing streak
The two times Olympic gold medalist PV Sindhu has qualified for the quarterfinal round of the Singapore Opens. She defeats Vietnam’s Nguyen Thuy Linh in the second round of the Women’s single category.
Sindhu did not have a great start to the match. She faced a defeat rather in the first set by the margin f 19-21. There were several close calls that didn’t go in her favour. Hence the set was won by her Vietnamese counterpart.
The remaining two sets, however, saw a remarkable comeback by the Indian shuttler. In a closely contested set, Sindhu piped her opponent by margins of 2 and 3 points in respective sets to win the round 2-1.
The match is said to have lasted one hour and six minutes. This is quite a big deal in Badminton as a sport. But at the end of the round, Sindhu was rewarded for her hard work.
While Sindhu produced a great victory on court 1, there was another Indian competing in court 2 who procured great results for his country.
HS Pranoy, who was representing India in the Men’s single category, fared up against Thailand’s Sitthikom Thammasin. In an intense battle of wits, the Indian emerged victorious. He defeated Thammasin in straight sets of 13-21 and 16-21 to advance to the next round.
Apart from Pranoy and Sidhu, Saina Nehwal has also had a great start to the tournament. She finally broke her three-match losing streak with a win over compatriot Malvika Bansod.
Both the Indians had a closely contested first set where Saina emerged victorious with 21-18. The second set however was more one-sided where Malvika could only accumulate 15 points.
Nehwal will be seen in action later on Thursday alongside the doubles team of MR Arjuna and Dhruv Kapila.
