India’s HS Prannoy and Lakshya Sen on Tuesday progressed to the third round in the men’s singles event at the BWF World Championships while PV Sindhu bowed out in the second round.
Up against South Korea’s Sen Jeon Hyeok Jin, Sen was always in control of the match trailing just twice at the start of both games. The Indian needed just 36 minutes to secure a 21-11, 21-12 win.
Meanwhile, Prannoy secured his place in the third round with a comfortable 21-9, 21-14 win against Indonesia’s Chico Aura Dwi Wardoyo in 36 minutes.
Both Sen and Prannoy face tough matches in the third round with Sen playing Thailand’s third seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn. Sen and Vitidsarn have met each other nine times with the Thai player winning five matches. The pair met each other twice this season and won one match each.
Prannoy will face seventh seed Loh Kean Yew from Singapore. Prannoy holds a 3-1 head-to-head record over the Singaporean.
Sindhu’s tournament came to an end on Tuesday as she lost to Japanese rival Nozomi Okuhara in straight games. The pair had met in two classic World Championship finals with Okuhara edging ahead in the 2017 final while Sindhu got the better of Okuhara in the 2019 final.
Both players have been in poor form after struggling with injuries and have tumbled down the rankings. It was an even start to the match with the pair splitting the first 12 points in the opening game.
Okuhara took a slender lead at the mid-game break and built on it to secure the game 21-14.
Sindhu started the second game very strongly taking a 9-0 lead as Okuhara struggled to be accurate with her shots. However, the Japanese soon found her bearings and began chipping at Sindhu’s lead.
The Indian led 12-9 but soon began committing errors as Okuhara went on a six-point run to snatch the lead. Sindhu tried to mount a comeback winning two points but Okuhara won five points on the trot to secure her place in the third round.
Earlier in the day, the mixed doubles pair of V Prasad and Juhi Dewangan lost 21-11, 21-12 in the first round of the mixed doubles event. Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam lost a hard-fought round one match in the women’s doubles event.
Up against the Netherlands’ Debora Julle and Cheryl Seinen, the Indian pair went down 21-14, 11-21, 21-4 in a 57-minute match.
Men’s doubles second seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty begin their campaign in the second round on Wednesday when they take on Australia’s Kenneth Choo and Ming Lim.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, the 15th seeds in the women’s doubles event, begin their campaign Chinese Taipei’s Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun.
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