PV Sindhu moved into the second round of the women's singles event at the Singapore Open with a straight-game win over fifth seed Putri Kusuma Wardani on Tuesday. The 30-year-old two-time Olympic medallist defeated the world No. 6 Indonesian 21-17, 21-18 in the opening round of the USD 10,00,000 Super 750 tournament. Former world champion Sindhu will next face Japan's Riko Gunji.
Indian Doubles Success
In men's doubles, Asian Games gold medallists Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also advanced after beating Malaysia's Chen Zhi Yi and Presley Smith 26-28, 21-15, 21-13 in the opening round. The world No. 4 Indian pair will next play either Chinese Taipei's Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan or China's Liu Yang and Huang Di.
Early Exits for Indians
However, Ayush Shetty exited the tournament after losing 21-11, 14-21, 12-21 to world championships bronze medallist Viktor Axelsen in a 65-minute men's singles match. Young Indian player Unnati Hooda also suffered a first-round defeat, losing 14-21, 10-21 to former world junior champion and eighth seed Tomoka Miyazaki in women's singles.
In women's doubles, India's Kavipriya Selvam and Simran Singhi lost 21-18, 13-21, 5-21 to Spain's Paula Lopez and Lucia Rodriguez in 48 minutes. Another Indian pair, Ashwini Bhat K and Shikha Gautam, lost 16-21, 11-21 to Chinese Taipei's Chang Ching Hui and Yang Ching Tun.
Japan's seventh-seeded pair of Takuro Hoki and Yugo Kobayashi defeated India's Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun 21-15, 21-13 in another men's doubles match. In mixed doubles, India's Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Shivani Gadde lost 18-21, 20-22 to Chinese Taipei's Yang Po Han and Hu Ling Fang in the opening round.
Sindhu's Comeback
Sindhu's win over Wardani was important as she had lost to the Indonesian twice last year at the World Championships and the Sudirman Cup. On Tuesday, Sindhu raced to a 4-0 lead before Wardani fought back to level at 7-7 and later moved ahead 15-11. Sindhu then won six of the last seven points to take the opening game. The second game remained close with both players exchanging the lead regularly. Sindhu moved ahead 13-11 before Wardani levelled again. The Indian stayed steady in the final stages and closed out the match in straight games.
Lakshya Sen, HS Prannoy and Malvika Bansod will begin their campaigns on Wednesday.
