Saina, Sindhu advance with straight games wins

Olympic and World Championship silver medalist Sindhu outwitted local player and world number 22 Gregoria Mariska Tunjung 21-12 21-15 in 35 minutes after Commonwealth Games gold medalist Saina dispatched another crowd-favourite Fitriani, ranked 40th, 21-6 21-14 in another second-round match.

Commonwealth Games silver medalists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, however, couldn’t cross the second round after their gallant fight ended with a 17-21 21-19 17-21 loss against Korea’s Choi Solgyu and Min Hyuk Kang in men’s doubles.

In women’s singles pre-quarterfinals, Sindhu zoomed to an 8-1 lead early on before Gregoria fought back to reduce the gap to 7-10. The Indian then unleashed a smash leaving the Indonesian stranded to enter the interval 11-8. The 19-year-old Indonesian showed glimpses of her skills when she troubled the Indian with her backhand flicks and reverse slices.

However, the experienced Sindhu managed to keep her nose ahead and pocketed the opening game when her opponent hit long and at the net. In the second game, Sindhu moved to a 6-2 advantage, despite her opponent giving ample display of her defence as she kept returning the shuttle back from difficult positions. Sindhu was alert, quick on her feet as she made some good judgements to enter the break with a 11-4 lead after Gregoria went wide.

With the crowd rooting for her, Gregoria managed to make it 12-15 after winning eight of the next 12 points. Power and accuracy in her strokes helped Sindhu to move to five match points with a body smash. The match then ended when the Indonesian went wide next.