Indonesia Masters: PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen enters quarters

Jakarta: Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen entered the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters Super 500 badminton tournament on Thursday. While the two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu had to battle Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung for more than an hour to seal the match 23-21 20-22 21-11, Sen made his game a piece of cake with a 21-18 21-15 victory in direct sets against Denmark's Rasmus Gemke, PTI reported.

Sindhu had a good start against unseeded Tunjung and took the lead in the first to 10-5. She was using her experience and reach, engaging her opponent in long rallies. But the Indonesian came back strong, taking the score to 15 each.The battle turned real hard from there, and Sindhu was able to pocket the game at 21.

On the second set, Tunjung blasted the start and raced to a 10-5 lead over Sindhu, the exact opposite of the first set. But Sindhu fought and came to 15 each. However, the Indonesian won the set leading the match to a decider.

But the decider turned out to be a consider after Sindhu exhibited sheer dominance, not presenting opportunities for her opponent and sealing the game. Sindhu had defeated Tungjung six times before in her career.

Lakshya Sen was playing Gemke for the first time in his international career. Sen concentrated on limiting his errors, ploughing his way to victory.

Both Sindhu and Sen have tough matches ahead. Fourth-seeded Sindhu will face the winner of Thailand's fifth seed Ratchanok Intanon versus Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland in the quarterfinal. Seventh-seeded Sen will face Chinese Taipei's third seed Chou Tien Chen, who had beaten Sen in the Thomas Cup last month.