Thailand Open: PV Sindhu carries India’s hopes

Bangkok, May 19

Two-time Olympics medallist PV Sindhu is the lone surviving Indian shuttler in the Thailand Open badminton tournament after she sailed into the women’s singles quarterfinals here today.

The world No. 7, seeded sixth here, took just 37 minutes to score a 21-16 21-13 second-round win over South Korea’s Sim Yu Jin. Jin had played a pivotal role in South Korea’s Uber Cup victory last week. Sindhu, who had defeated world No. 62 Lauren Lam of the USA in the opening round, will next face second seed Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, who beat South Korea’s Kim Ga Eun 21-23 21-15 21-16.

However, Kidambi Srikanth, one of the architects of India’s historic Thomas Cup triumph, exited from the BWF World Tour Super 500 event after handing a walkover to Irishman Nhat Nguyen in the men’s singles second round.

In the women’s singles, Malvika Bansod lost 21-16 14-21 14-21 to Denmark’s Line Christopherson in the second round.

The Indian mixed doubles pair of Ishaan Bhatnagar and Tanisha Crasto also bowed out in the second round, losing 19-21 20-22 to the sixth-seeded Malaysian combination of Goh Soon Huat and Lai Shevon Jemie. Later, Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam too crashed out in the women’s doubles.