Sindhu progresses, Satwik-Chirag pair pulls out of tourney

The 26-year-old Sindhu outplayed Germany’s World No.23 Yvonne Li 21-10, 21-13 in her second Group A women’s singles match to ensure a top-two finish in the pool.

Lakshya, who was guaranteed a place in the next round after two of his opponents in Group A – Japan’s Kento Momota and Rasmus Gemke of Denmark – pulled out due to injuries, lost 15-21, 14-21 to Olympic champion Viktor Axelsen (Denmark).

Following the loss, the 20-year-old finished second in his group. World No.14 Srikanth jeopardised his chances of making it to the next stage after going down 18-21, 7-21 to Thailand’s Kunlavut Vitidsarn in his second men’s singles Group B match.

The India women’s doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy too suffered a defeat, going down fighting 19-21, 20-22 to the Bulgarian duo of Gabriela Stoeva and Stefani Stoeva to bow out of contention.

Meanwhile, the men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty handed a walkover to the top-seeded Indonesian combination of Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in Group A.

As Satwiksairaj complained of knee pain, the duo will not take further participation in the tournament.