Lakshya, Sindhu enter Indonesia Masters quarters

JAKARTA: Lakshya Sen and PV Sindhu progressed to the quarter-finals of the Indonesia Masters Super 500 with contrasting wins here on Thursday.

Lakshya registered a 21-18, 21-15 win over World No 13 Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the men’s singles round-of-16. In women’s singles, Sindhu was made to toil hard by Gregoria Mariska Tunjung (Indonesia) before winning 23-21, 20-22, 21-11 in the second round.

Against the unseeded Tunjung, Sindhu started on a bright note and played aggressively to surge to a 10-5 lead. But the Indonesian, whom Sindhu had defeated six times earlier, made a remarkable comeback to level the score at 15 apiece. From there on, it was a neck-and-neck fight between the two players as they traded points till 21. However, Sindhu raised her level to pocket the first game.

The second game was a complete contrast to the first. Tunjung started on an attacking note and raced to a 10-5 lead before Sindhu fought back to draw parity at 15-15. The players battled for points until 20 all before the Indonesian won the game.

The decider, however, was a one-sided affair as after a few initial exchanges, till seven points to be precise, Sindhu did not allow her opponent an inch. The Indian used her experience to run away with the game and the match.

Earlier in the day, playing Gemke for the first time in his international career, World No 9 Lakshya showed better nerves as he limited his errors and fought his way to a fine last-16 win.

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