P V Sindhu and Indian Badminton Shine at China Open

Changzhou, Jul 23 (PTI): P V Sindhu, the double Olympic medallist and former world champion, showcased her resilience by defeating the sixth seed Tomoka Miyazaki of Japan with a scoreline of 21-15, 8-21, 21-17, advancing to the round of 16 at the China Open Super 1000 event on Wednesday.

Sindhu, currently ranked 15th globally, initiated the match with vigor, racing to a 13-5 lead in the opening game, which she won comfortably. However, in the second game, Miyazaki, 18, and world number 6, mounted a fierce challenge, bagging nine consecutive points to take control and level the match.

The decisive third game saw Sindhu regain composure, maintaining a steady advantage to clinch victory in a 62-minute contest. This win marks Sindhu’s first victory against the Japanese, having previously lost to her at the Swiss Open last year.

The victory comes as a positive turnaround for Sindhu, who has been striving to recover from a series of early tournament exits. Her recent challenges include a first-round defeat last week at the Super 750 Japan Open, where she fell 15-21, 14-21 to Korea's Sim Yu Jin, marking her fifth such exit this year. She is keen to reverse the trend of early knockouts, which include tournaments like the Indonesia Open and All England Open, among others.

In another highlight for Indian badminton, the men's doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, ranked 15th in the world, demonstrated their prowess by decisively defeating Japan’s Kenya Mitsuhashi and Hiroki Okamura 21-13, 21-9, concluding the match in just 31 minutes.

The duo, former world number 1, are eager to overcome their semi-final challenges, having previously reached the last four at events such as the Malaysia Open, India Open, and Singapore Open.

However, there was disappointment in the women’s doubles category, where the duo of Rutaparna Panda and Swetaparna Panda were ousted by Hong Kong's Nga Ting Yeung and Pui Lam Yeung with a 12-21, 13-21 scoreline, in a match lasting 31 minutes.

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