Tokyo [Japan]: Top India shuttler PV Sindhu on Wednesday moved to the pre-quarterfinals of the women’s singles event at the ongoing Kumamoto Masters Japan 2024.
The Indian shuttler displayed a dominating performance over Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan and sealed a 21-12, 21-18 triumph. The game lasted for just 38 minutes.
In the first game, Ongbamrungphan took an early 5-1 lead. Sindhu, however, made a solid comeback and clinched the series with an 11-10 advantage at the break.
In the second game, Ongbamrungphan put up a fight again but Sindhu won 11 of the last 12 points in the second game.
With the victory, the Indian shuttler registered her 19th win over Busanan in 20 meetings.
In the Round of 16, PV Sindhu will take on Canada’s Michelle Li, who defeated Natsuki Nidaira of Japan in her opening match.
Meanwhile, in the men’s singles event, India’s Lakshya Sen failed to clinch a win against Malaysia’s Leong Jun Hao and lost the match by 22-20, 17-21, 16-21.
PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen last competed on the BWF World Tour at the Denmark Open in the second week of October.
PV Sindhu, 19th in the latest badminton rankings for the women’s singles, lost to Paris 2024 Olympics bronze medallist Gregoria Mariska Tunjung of Indonesia in the quarter-finals of the Denmark Open after defeating the People’s Republic of China’s then-world No. 7 Han Yue in the second round.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist and a former world champion, reached the final of the Malaysia Masters BWF Super 500 tournament in May. The Indian badminton player is still searching for her first title on the BWF World Tour since her victory at the Singapore Open in July 2022.