Sindhu, Marin to renew rivalry in Singapore Open quarters

Sindhu had to toil hard before prevailing 19-21 21-17 21-8 over Indonesian world No. 27 Fitriani Fitriani in a match that lasted an hour at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. Sindhu will face Spain’s Carolina Marin in the quarterfinals. Fourth seed Marin defeated Chinese Taipei’s Chia Hsin Lee 21-7 21-11 in her second round match which lasted just 27 minutes.

Praneeth produced a gritty performance to see off China’s Qiao Bin 21-15 21-23 21-16 in an hour and 12 minutes. The world No. 30 will clash with eighth seeded Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk of Thailand next. 

Kidambi Srikanth came from behind to register a 18-21 21-19 22-20 victory over Ihsan Maulana Mustofa of Indonesia. Srikanth lost the first game before taking the tie into the decider by winning the second in another tight game. In the third game, Srikanth had to survive three match points before eking out a 22-20 win. Srikanth faces fifth seed Chinese Shi Yuqi, who defeated Ajay Jayaram in the first round.

B Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa eked out a thrilling 17-21 21-17 21-16 win over the Korean pair Jae Hwan Kim and Lee So Hee to reach the quarterfinals. The Indian pair will take on third seeded Chinese combo of Lu Kai and Huang Yaqiong.

In the women’s doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy lost to the Japanese pair Misaki Matsutomo and Ayaka Takahashi 11-21 21-19 12-21 in the second round.

Sindhu lost three spots to be placed fifth in the latest Badminton World Federation list. Saina Nehwal, however, remained unchanged at the ninth position. 

The women’s singles ranking table is headed by Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan.

In the men’s singles, Ajay Jayaram is the highest-ranked Indian at the 14th position. None of the other Indian male shuttlers figure in the top-20.