Star Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen advanced to the second round of the China Masters Super 750 badminton competition in Shenzhen on Wednesday, winning the women’s and men’s singles games respectively. Malvika Bansod, ranked 36th in the world, also scored an upset, upsetting Denmark’s world No. 21 Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt 20-22, 23-21, 21-16 to move to the next round. Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, defeated the higher-ranked Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-17, 21-19 in 50 minutes, earning her 20th victory in 21 meetings with the Thai shuttler.
The 29-year-old from Hyderabad will now face Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min, while Malvika will face eighth-seeded Supanida Katethong. Meanwhile, Lakshya avenged his Olympic bronze medal setback with a 21-14, 13-21, 21-13 victory over Malaysia’s seventh seed Lee Zii Jia in 57 minutes. Lakshya’s next opponent will be either Rasmus Gemke from Denmark or Kenta Nishimoto from Japan.
The victory was a relief for Lakshya, who had lost to Lee in the bronze medal match at the Paris Olympics from a strong position. Lakshya played with a vengeance in their first encounter since the defeat, jumping out to an 11-4 lead in the first game before sealing the victory. Lee responded in the second game, jumping to a 7-1 lead before stretching it to 17-8 to tie the game.
In the decider, Lakshya led 5-1, but Lee rallied to tie the score at 5-5. However, Lakshya stood fast, taking an 11-8 lead at the interval with a crisp smash. He then moved to 14-10 with two diagonal shots before scoring 18-11 with a cross-court smash. After Lee hit wide, the Indian remained calm and won the match.
Sindhu against Busanan
Both shuttlers started the match on an even keel, with Busanan grabbing a 14-10 lead owing to two unforced errors from the Indian. Sindhu, on the other hand, went on a tear, winning the next nine points to establish a 19-14 lead and ultimately won the first game.
However, Busanan’s loss in the first game did not dissuade her, as she started the second game aggressively. Despite trailing for the majority of the second game, Sindhu managed to chip away at the points deficit with her aggressive play, taking the lead for the first time at 18-17.