PV Sindhu 21-14 Pai Yu Po
A misjudgment at the baseline from Pai Yu Po gives Sindhu six game points and the Indian needs only one to convert on her serve. A breezy effort from the fifth seed to take a 1-0 lead.
PV Sindhu 19-13 Pai Yu Po
Sindhu staying on the front foot and not giving any window of opportunity for Pai Yu Po.
PV Sindhu 17-10 Pai Yu Po
Twice in the last three points now that Sindhu has dominated a rally but ended up on the losing side due to an error. But she is looking sharp overall. Gets back the serve immediately and wins that rally with a smash to open up a seven point lead.
Abhijeet Kulkarni: Sindhu is getting into her rhythm now. Though Pai is trying her best to keep the rallies going and put pressure on Sindhu with downward strokes, the Indian has managed to counter that.
PV Sindhu 14-8 Pai Yu Po
Sindhu is keeping things simple and beginning to look strong against Pai. A great mix of patience and aggression so far. Good signs for the Indian star. If you expected rustiness, it’s not been evident yet.
PV Sindhu 11-7 Pai Yu Po
An error from Pai Yu Po followed by a lovely backhand block by Sindhu that turns out to be a point-killer and the Indian has the lead heading into the mid-game interval.
PV Sindhu 9-7 Pai Yu Po
Four straight points for PV Sindhu and she opens up a good lead. A couple of “come on!”s to get her going as well. Pai breaks the serve with a lovely return of serve that catches Sindhu off guard.
PV Sindhu 6-5 Pai Yu Po
The players are trading points in the early exchanges but the initial indications are that this is going to be a tight match. PV Sindhu’s reach is proving crucial in the early part too but Pai’s shot-making stands out as well.
PV Sindhu 2-2 Pai Yu Po
Sindhu and Pai are involved in a long rally at 2-1 that finished with a lovely backhand lift by the Taiwanese. Good movement from both players in that rally.
PV Sindhu 0-0 Pai Yu Po
Pai Yu Po will serve... here we go.
6.07 pm: Pai, in the round of 64, defeated Linda Zetchiri 21-18, 21-17. Sindhu wins the toss and chose side, indicating a preference for a side of the court and possible drift.
6.05 pm: Pai Yu Po is currently ranked 45, but she is a former world No 20 and has been around for a while. This will be the third meeting between Sindhu and Pai Yu Po.
6.00 pm: Tai Tzu Ying was trailing 13-14 in the second game and Fitriani was playing some superb badminton.... what happens next? Tai Tzu Ying wins 8 straight points to win the match in straight games. Madness, we say! Or, in TTY’s world, just another day.
5.52 pm: After a routine win in the opening game, Tai Tzu Ying is being pushed in the second by Fitriani.It’s all level at 13-13 now... and PV Sindhu’s wait could be extended behind the scenes as she is set to play after this.
5.27 pm: After the top seeds Gideon and Sukamuljo were knocked out earlier, fifth seeds Endo and Watanabe have now been ousted from mixed doubles as well! (Indian fans, If only Satwik and Chirag were fully fit and playing the Worlds! The men’s doubles competition has opened up big time!)
5.20 pm: Time for Tai Tzu Ying to take to the court in Basel. She is the second seed here after losing the top spot in the world rankings recently to Akane Yamaguchi. Remember, Tai Tzu Ying is yet to win the World Championships title...
4.55 pm: In case you missed it late last night....
In the biggest upset of the tournament so far, world No 1 Akane Yamaguchi was knocked out at the World Championships in the round of 32. Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min (20 years old) stunne Yamaguchi 14-21, 18-21 in just 40 minutes. Yamaguchi did not look fully fit but this was still a stunning result for the youngster and also opens up the women’s singles draw.
4.47 pm: J Meghana / Poorvisha S Ram’s doubles campaign comes to an end
The world No 41 pair have lost against 2019 Thailand Open winners Shiho Tanaka & Koharu Yonemoto from Japan. The Indians gave a good fight in 2nd game but lost 8-21, 18-21. The World No 8 pair fought back from 12-16 down to clinch the match in straight games.
4.40 pm: J Meghana / Poorvisha S Ram are the first Indians in action on day three.
And they are taking on 2019 Thailand Open winners and 2018 Worlds bronze medallists Shiho Tanaka and Koharu Yonemoto from Japan. They have lost the opening game 8-21 but are pushing the Japanese pair all the way in the second game, tied 17-17 now.
4.38 pm: The build up to the BWF Badminton World Championships wasn’t great for Indian shuttler HS Prannoy. The 27-year-old, who got a berth in the tournament only thanks to late withdrawals of Viktor Axelsen and Shi Yuqi, was unhappy after being overlooked for the Arjuna Award and had vented his frustration on social media.
But it would seem he has now found additional motivation to give to his best at the St. Jakobshalle Arena in Basel as he upset five-time former champion Lin Dan 21-11, 13-21, 21-7 to advance to the third round on Tuesday.
And here’s what he had to say after that win.
4.17 pm: Three of the biggest names among Indian badminton’s singles players are in action today. Along with Saina and Sindhu opening their campaigns after first round byes, Srikanth also features in his second round match.
Details of India’s opponents on day three here.
4.09 pm: Despite their domination for the last two years on the BWF circuit, ‘the Minions’ have failed to win a World Championships medal in three attempts now, weighs in Abhijeet Kulkarni, our badminton correspondent.
4.01 pm: AND WE HAVE A MAJOR UPSET EARLY IN THE DAY!
World No 1 men’s doubles pair Marcus Fenaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo have been stunned by Solgyu Choi and Seung Jae Seo (ranked 23 in the world). The top seeds have been knocked out in the round of 32 after having a match point in the decider! Incredible result.
3.55 pm: Hello and welcome to live updates from day three of the Badminton World Championships in Basel.
On day two of the tournament, Indian shuttler HS Prannoy stunned two-time Olympic and five-time world champion Lin Dan in a hard-fought match while B Sai Praneeth outplayed Lee Dong Keun to enter the pre-quarterfinals.
In the pre-quarterfinals, Prannoy faces an uphill task against top seed Kento Momota of Japan but that is not until Thursday. The third day will finally see the star Indian duo of Saina Nehwal and PV Sindhu begin their campaigns in the women’s singles round of 32 after receiving opening round byes. Kidambi Srikanth, the seventh seed, is in action on day three too. The doubles pairs have a few tough battles ahead of them.
Stay tuned for all the updates about India’s shuttlers and the key updates from the rest of the field as well.