Shenzhen
Indian badminton players delivered impressive performances at the China Masters, advancing to the pre-quarterfinals in various categories. Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu began her campaign with a strong win in the women’s singles. She defeated Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-17, 21-19 in a match that lasted one hour and 22 minutes on Wednesday. Malvika Bansod also shone in the women’s singles, overcoming Denmark’s Line Kjaersfeldt 20-22, 23-21, 21-16 after a fierce battle.
In the men’s singles, Commonwealth Games champion Lakshya Sen beat Malaysia’s Lee Zii Jia 21-14, 13-21, 21-13 in just 42 minutes to secure his spot in the next round.
Indian mixed doubles pair B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy clinched a victory against the American duo Presley Smith and Jennie Gai. The world-ranked 32 pair won 23-21, 17-21, 21-17 in a match lasting over an hour. However, they now face a tough challenge against China’s world No. 2 duo, Feng Yan Zhe and Huang Dong Ping, in the round of 16.
On the downside, Priyanshu Rajawat lost a close men’s singles match to Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo, 24-22, 13-21, 18-21. Aakarshi Kashyap also exited the women’s singles after losing to Japan’s Tomoka Miyazaki 10-21, 18-21.
Anupama Upadhyaya pulled off an upset, defeating USA’s Beiwen Zhang 21-17, 8-21, 22-20. Meanwhile, the top-ranked men’s doubles team of Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy is set to return to action, aiming to bounce back after their Paris Olympics performance.
