Syed Modi badminton: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy progress to the quarter-finals

Former world champion PV Sindhu progressed to the women’s singles quarter-finals of the Syed Modi International 2022 at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium in Lucknow on Thursday.

PV Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, defeated Lauren Lam of the USA 21-16, 21-13 in 33 minutes.

Both players started the match strongly. However, PV Sindhu went into the break with a slender lead of 11-10. From there, Indian found her groove and won the first game in 15 minutes.

PV Sindhu kept control of the court in the second game and raced to an 11-6 lead. The Indian badminton player then pocketed the match in straight games to set up a quarter-final clash against Thailand’s Supanida Katethong on Friday. Katethong had defeated PV Sindhu in the India Open semi-finals last week.

HS Prannoy, meanwhile, had to dig deep to overcome 19-year-old Indian Priyanshu Rajawat in the men’s singles round of 16 match. The Asian Championships bronze medallist won the three-game thriller 21-11, 16-21, 21-18 in one hour and four minutes.

He will be taking on Arnaud Merkle of France in the quarter-finals. 

Aakarshi Kashyap moved into the quarters with an easy straight games win against compatriot Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka. The India Open semi-finalist won the match 21-9, 21-6 in 24 minutes and will now face fellow youngster Malvika Bansod on Friday.

The fourth-seeded pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila, meanwhile, also progressed after receiving a walkover in their round of 16 match.