Jakarta, June 13: Ace Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy made it to the Round of 16 at the Indonesia Open, a BWF Super 1000 event, with impressive victories in their opening round matches on Tuesday.
World No. 13 PV Sindhu secured a convincing win of 21-19, 21-15 against world No. 9 Indonesian player Gregoria Mariska Tunjung. This victory comes after Sindhu’s defeat to Tunjung in the semifinals of the Malaysia Masters last month. Sindhu had also lost to Tunjung in the final of the Madrid Spain Masters, where she was denied the title. However, Sindhu turned the tables this time, ending her two-match losing streak against the Indonesian player and extending her head-to-head record to 8-2.
In the next round, Sindhu will face her familiar rival, world No. 3 Tai Tzu Ying from Chinese Taipei. Tai Tzu Ying is not only the defending champion of the Indonesia Open but also a formidable opponent for Sindhu.
In the men’s singles event, HS Prannoy delivered a dominant performance, defeating world No. 11 Kenta Nishimoto of Japan with a comfortable scoreline of 21-16, 21-14. Prannoy will now face Angus Ng Ka Long from Hong Kong, who caused an upset in the opening round by defeating two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan.
Unfortunately, it was not a successful day for the Indian women’s doubles pair of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, as they suffered an early exit in their opening match. They lost a hard-fought battle of 22-20, 12-21, 16-21 against the Japanese duo of Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi. This defeat marked their fourth consecutive first-round loss in BWF World Tour tournaments this season.
Similarly, the Indian men’s doubles combination of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila failed to progress beyond the first round. They faced a tough fight against Malaysians Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi but eventually lost with a score of 21-12, 6-21, 20-22.
PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy’s victories have raised hopes for Indian badminton fans, and all eyes will be on them as they aim to continue their winning momentum in the upcoming rounds of the Indonesia Open.
