As it happened - Toyota Thailand Open 2021, Day 3: PV Sindhu, Chirag-Satwik steal the show
Indian badminton players recorded fine wins to move into the quarter-finals at the Bangkok event. Re-live the action here from the Thailand Open.
5:18 PM IST - A great outing for Indian shuttlers
What a fine day for Indian badminton at the Toyota Thailand Open.
While Olympic silver medallist PV Sindhu was the headlining act with her dominating win, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will be a happy man after leading both his men's doubles and the mixed doubles teams into the quarter-finals.
The day also saw Sameer Verma make it to the last-eight with a fine win over Denmark's Rasmus Gemke while HS Prannoy and the men's doubles duo of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila bowed out.
Friday promises to be another exciting day with the competiton moving into its business end. Don't forget to return tomorrow as we bring you the latest from the Toyota Thailand Open.
Bye, for now.
5:15 PM IST - PV Sindhu happy with her performance
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu throws light on her emphatic win in the second round of the Toyota Thailand Open.
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 in the second game and they were ones I should not have made at all. There was too much wind in the second game and I was being careful. This time I was alert from the start and I was remembering last week's tournament and each point was really important for me. We all win and lose, so I took last week in a really positive way and came in much stronger this week. Overall, it's a good win and I'm really looking forward to the next round. - Pusarla V. Sindhu
4:45 PM IST - No stopping Sindhu
What a dominant win that was!
The Indian shuttle queen was in her elements throughout the match, barely putting a step wrong as she waltzes her way into the quarter-final of the Toyota Thailand Open.
Score: 21-10, 21-12
4:33 PM IST - This is Sindhu at her best
Back on Court 3, it looks like the silver medallist from the 2016 Rio Olympics is putting up a clinic here.
PV Sindhu has been the better of the two shuttlers by a mile and the scoreline doesn't lie either.
Score: 21-10, 11-2
4:26 PM IST - Chirag-Satwik getting in their groove
Speaking after their fine win over the South Koreans, Chirag Shetty sounds happy with the way the duo has returned to the court after the forced break due to the pandemic.
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. Despite the break, we’ve played with each other for a long time. However long we are away from each other, the combination is always set... it will take time to get back to our usual selves, but a month’s practise was good enough for us. We prepared well individually. - Chirag Shetty
4:23 PM IST - Sindhu takes the opening game
This has been a straightforward encounter for PV Sindhu so far. She has hardly given Selvaduray any room to operate and wins the opening game quite comfortably.
Score: 21-10
4:17 PM IST - Sindhu dominates early exchanges
World No. 7 PV Sindhu has come off flying off the blocks in her second-round match against Kisona Selvaduray, racing to a big seven-point lead at the break in the opening game. Looks ominous for the Malaysian.
Score: 11-4
4:04 PM IST - Chirag-Satwik sail into quarter-finals
Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy are through to the men's doubles quarter-finals. The pair trailed going into the break in the second game but stuck it out against SoiGyu and Seung Jae to take it deep and eventually prevail. A great performance from the youngsters that!
Score: 21-18, 23-21
4:00 PM IST - Arjun-Kapila bow out
The young men's doubles pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila's campaign was ended by Ben Lane and Sean Vendy. The Indian duo have given a good account of themselves this tournament but were ultimately no match for the English pair.
Score: 9-21, 11-21
3:50 PM IST - Chirag-Satwik a game up
The 2019 Thailand Open men's doubles champions, Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy seem to be in top form as they take the first game against seventh seeds Choi SoiGyu and Seo Seung Jae. The second game has been more difficult but Chirag-Satwik are hitting back.
Score: 21-18, 13-13
2:22 PM IST - HS Prannoy falls short
That's all for Prannoy.
Indian shuttler's inspiring run at the Toyota Thailand Open has come to a premature end in the second round. Daren Liew proves to be a hurdle bit too far for the 28-year-old Indian.
Score: 17-21, 18-21
2:00 PM IST - Daren Liew strikes first
The Malaysian has held his ground to take the opening game. Prannoy had his moments, but it was all about capitalising on the opportunities and Daren Liew was better at that.
A long way back for Prannoy...
Score: 17-21
1:35 PM IST - HS Prannoy takes guard
Up next on Court 3 in India's HS Prannoy. The 28-year-old has been in inspired form at the Toyota Thailand Open and will hope to continue the same against Malaysia's Daren Liew.
The two have faced twice in the past with the Malaysian winning both the matches. Can Prannoy be third time lucky?
12:31 PM IST - Srikanth Kidambi tests negative for COVID-19
Some more good news from the Indian camp.
Former world No. 1 Srikanth Kidambi has tested negative for COVID-19. He was forced to pull out of the competition after his room-mate B Sai Praneeth had tested positive for the novel coronavirus virus on Tuesday.
However, Srikanth will have to serve out the mandatory quarantine period before returning to India.
10:37 AM IST - Ashwini-Satwik with the win
What a fine comeback this has been.
The Indian duo looked down and out at the end of the second game. But Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy have done well to regroup and win the match to keep their Toyota Thailand Open campaign alive.
Score: 22-20, 14-21, 21-16
10:27 AM IST - Germans with the all-important lead
Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich lead the decider at the mid-game interval, but not by much.
It's been anything but smooth sailing for either of the pairs in the third game. This will boil down which duo can commit the less number of errors.
Score: 22-20, 14-21, 9-11
10:18 AM IST - Lamsfuss, Herttrich draw level
The second game is a complete contrast to the first with the Germans all over the Indian pair to win it 21-14.
Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich should back themselves to go and win this from here.
Score: 22-20, 14-21
10:10 AM IST - Lamsfuss, Herttrich with the advanatge
The Germans have come out with purpose in the second game and deservedly lead at the mid-game interval.
Can the Indians up their game and mount a comeback?
Score: 22-20, 6-11
10:00 AM IST - Ashwini-Satwik draw first blood
It couldn't get any closer than this. The Indians hold on to their nerves to see out what a tense opening game in this second-round match at the Toyota Thailand Open.
Both Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa will have to ensure they stay on their toes to close this match against Lamsfuss and Herttrich.
Score: 22-20
9:50 AM IST - German shuttlers with a slender lead
This one's shaping up to be an exciting one. Neither pair is giving away anything easily.
While the Indians, Ashwini and Satwik, have banked on their powerful strokes from the backcourt, the Germans, Lamsfuss and Herttrich, have aced the deceptive game so far.
Score: 9-11
9:35 AM IST - All eyes on Ashwini-Satwik
Up next on Court 1 is India's mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy.
They take on the world No. 17 Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich of Germany.
The two pairs have faced off just once in the past where the Indians emerged victorious after a hard-fought three games at the 2018 Badminton World Championships.
8:40 AM IST - Sameer Verma looking forward to the next challenge
The win over world No. 8 Lee Zii Jia seems to have done a world of good for Sameer Verma.
Here's the man sharing his thoughts on what was a comfortable win in the second round.
I was very confident before the match. I came prepared. Next up I have Anders Antonsen from Denmark. I'm feeling very confident, so let's see. It will be tough but I will play my best.
8:26 AM IST - Sameer Verma makes quarter-finals
The 26-year-old Indian shuttler has made quick work of his second-round tie at the Toyota Thailand Open, barely breaking a sweat to move into the last eight.
Having beaten the eighth seed, Lee Zii Jia of Malaysia, in the opening round, Sameer Verma looked in complete control of his match against Denmark's Rasmus Gemke today.
He will take on another Dane Anders Antonsen on Friday with a place in the semi-finals up for grabs.
Score: 21-12, 21-9
8:05 AM IST - Sameer Verma with the first blow
Sameer Verma is playing with some purpose against Rasmus Gemke. The Indian shuttler has led the match from the start and not surprisingly takes the opening game in less than 20 minutes.
Score: 21-12
7:15 AM IST - India banks on PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy, Satwik-Chirag
She kicked off her campaign with a comfortable win over Busanan Ongbamrungphan of Thailand on the opening day of the Toyota Thailand Open on Monday.
But that counts for very little as Indian badminton queen PV Sindhu will look to press on when she takes on Malaysia’s Kisona Selvaduray in the second round today.
PV Sindhu was in complete control of her tie against Busanan Ongbamrungphan and took just over 40 minutes to dispatch the local hope 21-17, 21-13.
India’s run at the Thailand Open today begins with Sameer Verma taking on Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke with mixed doubles exponents Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Ashwini Ponnappa lining up against Germany’s Mark Lamsfuss and Isabel Herttrich next.
Satwiksairaj Rankireddy will later return to partner Chirag Shetty in their men’s doubles match against the seventh seeds Choi Solgyu and Seo Seung Jae of South Korea, while Dhruv Kapila and MR Arjun will take on England’s Ben Lane and Sean Vendy in the other men’s doubles fixture.
HS Prannoy is also in action later today, with his match against Malaysia’s Daren Liew expected to be a close affair.