PV Sindhu eases into quarter-finals at Toyota Thailand Open
PV Sindhu hardly broke a sweat in a straight games win while Sameer Verma and Chirag-Satwik continued their good run at the Toyota Thailand Open.
PV Sindhu comfortably made it to the quarter-finals of the Toyota Thailand Open with a 21-10, 21-12 win over Malaysian Kisona Selvaduray in the second round on Thursday.
PV Sindhu had hit her stride late in her first win since March against Busanan Ongbamrungphan in the previous round but wasted no time in this match.
The Indian badminton player dominated Selvaduray with her smashes, not allowing her to build any momentum as she walked into the mid-game break with a 11-4 lead.
The trend continued after the break as PV Sindhu gave her opponent the round around, and though the world No. 7 conceded a few easy points towards the end, Selvaduray was too far behind to take advantage as the Indian won the opening game.
The second game progressed at an even more rapid pace with PV Sindhu racking up the points with alarming regularity to build a 11-2 lead at the break.
After what seemed like an eternity, Selvaduray finally strung a few points together to trail 9-15. However, PV Sindhu soon found the opening she needed to get back her momentum and notched up an easy win.
"The first game was pretty easy and in the second, I had to play with the wind and really control my strokes. I made some simple errors, ones I should not have made at all. There was too much wind in the second game and I was being careful. Overall, it's a good win and I'm really looking forward to the next round," Sindhu said after the win.
Sameer Verma, Chirag-Satwik into quarters
India’s Sameer Verma continued to impress with a 21-12, 21-9 victory over Rasmus Gemke of Denmark in the second round at the Thailand Open.
Sameer Verma, who beat Malaysian Lee Zii Jia in a marathon three-game effort in the previous round, seemed to have gained confidence from that performance.
Rasmus Gemke, who had reached the final of the season-opening Denmark Open in October, was no match for the Indian badminton player’s superior court coverage and defensive nous.
However, Sameer Verma’s biggest challenge yet will come in the form of third-seeded Dane Anders Antonsen in the quarter-finals.
The men’s doubles pair of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also recorded a memorable 21-18, 23-21 win over seventh-seeded South Koreans Choi SoiGyu and Seo Seung Jae.
Thailand Open champions in 2019, the Chirag-Satwik pair ran away with a 7-1 lead early and withstood pressure from the South Koreans to prevail in the opening game.
SoiGyu-Seung Jae then hit back in the second, taking an 11-7 lead to the mid-game break but Chirag-Satwik fought back to level the scores and did enough to take the win.
"We served and received pretty well, that made the difference for us. Overall, we are getting back to the way we were playing in 2019,” said Chirag Shetty.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy also progressed to the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles with veteran Ashwini Ponnappa.
Satwik-Ashwini beat Germans Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich 22-20, 14-21, 21-16 and will be up against fifth-seeds Chan Peng Soon and Goh Liu Ying of Malaysia next.
HS Prannoy falls early
A day after beating Asian Games gold-medallist Jonatan Christie, HS Prannoy exited the Toyota Thailand Open after a 21-17, 21-18 loss to Malaysia’s Daren Liew.
HS Prannoy, who was nursing a shoulder injury from his first-round match, trailed initially as Liew steadily built up his lead. Though the Indian badminton player rallied back to deny Liew three game points, the Malaysian’s comfortable cushion was enough to win the final point.
HS Prannoy displayed his incredible fighter instincts in the second game, leading for much of the first part.
However, Daren Liew was well-rested, having been given a walkover in the first round, and he clawed back to take the lead and then broke away to claim the victory.
Youngsters MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila also bowed out of the men’s doubles as they fell 21-9, 21-11 to Englishmen Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in the second round.
For play-by-play highlights of the Indian contingent, visit our live blog of Day 3 of the Toyota Thailand Open.
Lead Photo: Badmintonphoto – Courtesy of BWF