Second seed PV Sindhu defeated world number 49 Zhang 21-16, 21-12 in 30 minutes to book her round of 16 spot at the Madrid Spain Masters badminton tournament.
Madrid Spain Masters Badminton Tournament 2024
Two-time Olympic medalist and previous world champion PV Sindhu on Wednesday guarded a place in the pre-quarterfinals of the ongoing Madrid Spain Masters badminton tournament after a win over Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang in her first-round match. Second seed Sindhu defeated world number 49 Zhang 21-16, 21-12 in 30 minutes to reach the round of 16. Currently ranked 11th in the world, Sindhu’s next challenge will be world number 63 Huang Yu-Huson of Chinese Taipei, according to Olympics.com.
In the women’s singles, India’s other opponent Ashmita Chaliha crashed out in the first round after losing 21-13, 21-11 to Ratchanok Intanon in 28 minutes.
India also got off to a disappointing start in the men’s singles event as Satish Kumar Karunakaran lost his closely-fought first-round match to Indonesia’s Jason Teh, the 56th-ranked shuttler.
Karunakaran teamed up with Adya Variath in mixed doubles in a losing effort against Indonesia’s Rinov Rivaldi and Pitha Hanningtius Menthari. The Indian pair lost their match 21-18, 21-14.
Kidambi Srikanth, who led India’s men’s singles challenge at the tournament, lost to Japan’s Ku Takahashi 21-18, 21-15 in the first round after Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen withdrew.
The mixed doubles pair of B Sumit Reddy and N Sikki Reddy was on the up. However, Kidambi Srikanth, with a semi-final finish at the Swiss Open Super 300 last week, could not negotiate the challenge of Japanese qualifier Ku Takahashi.
Madrid Spain Masters Badminton Tournament: PV Sindhu reaches pre-quarterfinals
Sindhu, who finished runner-up in the last edition of the tournament in Madrid, rose to world no. 49 Zhang 21-16, 21-12 in a one-sided contest. It wasn’t too much trouble for Sindhu, the former world champion, as she took an early lead in the first game 4-1.
Zhang led 7-5 but Sindhu did not back down and returned with her winners before the break. After the recovery, the star Indian player broke away from a 14-14 deadlock to seal the opening game 21-16.
The second game was much easier for Sindhu as Zhang could not put up much of a fight and lost the game 21-12. After the game was locked at 4-4 at one stage, Sindhu led 11-6 at the interval. As Zhang’s game crumbled under pressure, the Indian continued to push forward.
Sindhu benefited from Zhang’s many unforced errors, with her game either returning to the net or receiving shuttles wide and long many times.
Sindhu will face Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-sun in the round of 16 on Thursday.
However, it was the curtain for the world no. 27 Srikanth. As expectations soar over the previous world no. 1 After his strong showing at the Swiss Open, Srikanth crashed out against the world no. 61 Takahashi, who defeated the Indian shuttler 21-18, 21-15 to advance to the pre-quarterfinals. Asmita Chaliha lost to Thailand’s Ratchanok Inthanon 13-21, 11-21. Asmita enjoyed a huge lead in the first game but after the interval, Intanon capitalized on her experience with the Indian player near her mistakes. In the second game, Ashmita’s game fell off a cliff as Intanon cruised to a big win.
In mixed doubles, Adya Variath and Satish Kumar Karunakaran, who had earlier lost to Jason Teh in the men’s singles, lost in straight games to Indonesia’s Rinov Rivaldi and Pitha Hanningtius 21-18, 21-14. However, the other mixed doubles pair of Sumit Reddy and Sikki Reddy won against Chinese Taipei’s Chen Zhi Re and Yang Ching Tun. Sumit and Sikki won the game 16-21, 22-20, 21-14 in 49 minutes. In the men’s singles category, Mithu Manjunath lost in straight games to Chinese Taipei’s Wang Xu Wei. Mithun could not match the quality of his opponent and lost 11-21, 12-21. Kiran George also lost his first round match as he lost to Chinese Taipei’s Chia Hao Li 8-21, 10-21.
Mithun Manjunath also lost his first-round match to Chinese Taipei’s Wang Xu Wei 21-11, 21-12, while the mixed doubles duo of BS Reddy-N Sikki Reddy advanced 16-21, 22-20 to the pre-quarters. , a 21-14 win over Chinese Taipei’s Chen Zhi Ray and Yang Ching Tun.
The Madrid Spain Masters Badminton Tournament started on March 26 and will end on March 31.
The Madrid Spain Masters Badminton Tournament 2024 offers players ranking points for the Paris 2024 Olympics, which are being held in July-August this year. The ranking duration for Badminton started on May 1, 2023 and will end next month.