Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu extended her remarkable run at the Madrid Spain Masters on Thursday, defeating Huang Yu-Hsun of Chinese Taipei in straight games to move on to the quarterfinals. The Taiwanese qualifier, who is ranked 63rd in the world, barely put Sindhu to the test during her smooth performance, which ended in a 21-14 21-12 victory in 36 minutes.
The former world champion, who finished runner-up in the last edition, will take on either sixth seed Supanida Katethong of Thailand or Japan's Natsuki Nidaira.
In the opening game, Sindhu was 3-0 up initially but then entered a phase where she often found the net or went long, while her rival produced some precise returns to grab a 7-6 lead before taking a one-point advantage with a straight-down-the-line smash.
The Indian, however, produced a better show after the resumption, taking an 18-12 cushion with Yu-Hsun making errors. She soon grabbed eight game points and wasted two of them before sealing the opening game with her trademark smash.
After the change of sides, Yu-Hsun struggled to control the shuttle as her lifts repeatedly went long. The Taiwanese shuttler tried to use her drops and placements but she didn't have power in her smashes.
The result was Sindhu quietly waited for her opponent to commit errors. Soon she had a five-point advantage at the break. Every time Yu-Hsun tried to extend the rallies, she ended up with unforced errors.
Soon a smash handed another eight match points to Sindhu and she wrapped it up when her opponent sprayed into the net again.
With top seed Carolina Marin of Spain pulling out of the tournament after her title-winning run at the All England Championships and Swiss Open in the last two weeks, Sindhu is now the favourite to claim the crown and end a long wait.
Sindhu won her last BWF tour title at the 2022 Singapore Open Super 500.
With PTI inputs