Sindhu, Lakshya March Into Hylo Open Quarterfinals
Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu and India’s top-ranked men’s singles player Lakshya Sen advanced to the quarterfinals of the Hylo Open Super 500 badminton tournament in Saarbrucken, Germany, on Thursday.
Second seed Sindhu produced a dominant performance to beat France’s Rosy Oktavia Pancasari 21-9, 21-6 in just 26 minutes. Lakshya, meanwhile, overcame compatriot Kiran George 21-15, 18-21, 21-12 in a 54-minute round-of-16 contest.
Sindhu Sets Up Quarterfinal Clash
Fresh from her runner-up finish at the French Open, former world champion Sindhu continued her impressive form with a commanding victory.
She controlled the contest throughout, winning 42 of the 57 points played and allowing her French opponent just 15 points. Sindhu had earlier defeated Prakriti Bharath in the opening round.
She will now face Amalie Schulz for a place in the semifinals.
Malvika, Isharani Exit Tournament
India’s Malvika Bansod and Isharani Baruah suffered straight-game defeats to exit the competition.
Malvika lost 11-21, 17-21 to Canada’s Wen Yu Zhang in 31 minutes. After struggling in the opening game, she improved in the second but could not force a decider.
Isharani went down 14-21, 19-21 against eighth seed Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt of Denmark in a 39-minute match. She put up a stronger fight in the second game, but the Danish shuttler held on to secure the win.
Sixth seed Unnati Hooda and Anmol Kharb were also scheduled to play their women’s singles round-of-16 matches later in the day. Unnati faced Denmark’s Frederikke Ostergaard, while Anmol was set to meet third seed Line Christophersen.
