MADRID: Double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu progressed to the second round of the Madrid Spain Masters with a straight-game win over Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang here on Wednesday.
Sindhu, who finished as runner-up in the last edition, saw off world no. 49 Zhang 21-16 21-12 in a lop-sided contest. Sindhu, a former world champion, will meet Chinese Taipei’s Huang Yu-Hsun next. The half an hour clash had some exciting moments as the two players fought hard for supremacy with Sindhu conceding a 4-2 lead to Zhang, who could only manage a one-point advantage at the break.
After resumption, the Indian pulled away from 14-14 to seal the opening game. The second game was an easy affair as Sindhu jumped to 11-6 after 4-4 at one stage. The Indian kept it ahead as Zhang’s crumbled under pressure.