Sindhu, Srikanth enter Round of 16 of Indonesia Masters
text_fields
Jakarta: PV Sindhu, a former world champion, defeated Japan's Manami Suizu in straight games in the first round of the Indonesia Masters on Wednesday. Sindhu had a surprise start in the first game, losing 2-11 at the break.
She had to defend four game points but won the game 22-20 by scoring six straight points. In the second game, she led throughout but was unable to take a comfortable lead over Suizu, eventually winning 21-18.
The India ace will face either Denmark's Line Kjaersfeldt or China's Han Qian Xi in the second round.
Meanwhile, former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, who made it to the finals of the Malaysia Masters and Syed Modi International last year, faced Japan's Koki Watanabe in an exciting first-round match and edged out his Japanese opponent with a 21-15, 21-23, 24-22 victory, IANS reported.
After a strong start with aggressive shot-making in the opening game, Srikanth's game faltered in the second as he made errors, giving Watanabe a chance to catch up. In the third, he led 7-4 but made several errors and couldn't fully dominate Watanabe. Ultimately, in key moments, Srikanth's aggressive strokeplay helped him secure the win, keeping Watanabe at bay.
Srikanth will next face fourth seed Chou Tien Chen in the second round.
On Tuesday, Indian shuttlers Anmol Kharb and Aakarshi Kashyap secured their spots in the women’s singles main draw with notable victories in the qualifying rounds. Aakarshi, however, was eliminated after losing three games in the women's singles main draw opener, and Kiran George was defeated in straight games in his men's singles opener.
The mixed doubles teams of Dhruv Kapila/Tanisha Crasto and Rohan Kapoor/Ruthvika Shivani Gadde both fell in the first round to French pairs.