Indian badminton star PV Sindhu secured a place in the second round of the Arctic Open 2023 women's singles event in Vantaa, Finland.
The two-time Olympic medallist triumphed over Japan's Nozomi Okuhara with a score of 21-13, 21-6 at the Vantaa Energia Areena.
This marked their 19th head-to-head match, with Sindhu claiming victory for the 10th time. These two badminton champions had previously faced each other in the finals of two world championships, with each player securing a win.
At the start of the match in Vantaa, Sindhu found herself trailing 4-0 after the initial exchanges. Nevertheless, Sindhu, ranked 13th in the badminton rankings, made a comeback, establishing an 11-6 lead over the world No. 29, Okuhara, during the opening break. Sindhu continued to dominate with an aggressive approach, comfortably taking the first game, reported ANI.
Sindhu's aggressive style also helped her maintain control in the second game. She led 11-3 at the break and ultimately sealed the match, securing a place in the round of 16.
In another women's singles match, Aakarshi Kashyap came from behind to defeat Belgium's Lianne Tan, with a score of 18-21, 22-20, 21-18. Kashyap, ranked 41st, will face China's Wang Zhiyi, ranked 11th in the world, in the round of 16.
In the men's singles, Harshit Agarwal was unable to make it to the main draw. He lost the qualifying match to Finland's Joakim Oldorff with a score of 21-19, 21-12.
In mixed doubles, the Indian duo of K Sai Pratheek and Tanisha Crasto progressed to the round of 32. They won their qualifying match against the Danish pair Andreas Sondergaard-Iben Bergstein with a score of 26-24, 21-18.
In the upcoming matches on Wednesday, Kidambi Srikanth will compete against Germany's Max Weisskirchen in the round of 32. Kiran George and Mithun Manjunath will begin their men's singles challenge. Tanisha Crasto will feature in both mixed doubles and women's doubles round of 32 matches, partnering with K Sai Pratheek and Ashwini Ponnappa, respectively.