Star Indian shuttlers P.V. Sindhu, Lakshya Sen march into quarters

COUNCIL BLUFFS: Star Indian shuttlers P.V. Sindhu and Lakshya Sen progressed to the quarterfinals of the US Open, BWF Super 300 tournament, after notching a straight-game win in their respective Round of 16 matches, here on Thursday.

Two-time Olympic medallist Sindhu registered an easy 21-14, 21-12 win over Sung Shuo Yun of the Chinese Taipei in the Round of 16 women’s singles. Lakshya, meanwhile, beat the Czech Republic’s Jan Louda 21-8, 23-21 in his men’s singles second-round match.

Sindhu started slow but found her rhythm as the match progressed. The Indian ace soon put Sung Shuo Yun on the back foot and raced to a 13-5 lead. The Taipei shuttler put up a brief resistance but it was not enough as Sindhu wrapped up the first game and took the lead.

After the change of sides, Sindhu and Shuo Yun went toe-to-toe early on with both shuttlers looking to seize control of the encounter. As the match progressed, Shuo Yun was unable to match Sindhu’s intensity as the Indian pulled away for a healthy lead and won five consecutive points to seal the match in 37 minutes.

In the upcoming quarterfinals, Sindhu is set to face Chinese shuttler Gao Fang Jie. So far, the Indian player has won only one out of their four previous encounters.

Earlier in the day, third-seed Lakshya found his momentum early on and comfortably pocketed the first game. The second game proved a far bigger challenge as the Indian player trailed Louda 19-14.

The 21-year-old Indian rallied back to level the scores at 19-all. In what was a thrilling finish to the match, he held his nerve and eventually clinched the 39-minute encounter. In the quarterfinals, Lakshya will face compatriot S. Sankar Muthusamy Subramanian, who defeated Israel’s Misha Zilberman 21-18, 21-23, 21-13. IANS

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