Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Former champions PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth chalked out a facile victory as they led five singles players and 4 doubles pairs from India into the quarter-finals of the Yonex-Sunrise India Open Badminton, here on Thursday.
Sindhu , who won the title, totally dominated the game as she outplayed Hong Kong’s World No. 37 Deng Joy Xuan in her 21-11, 21-13..
The Rio Olympic silver medallist will face Danish eighth seed Mia Blichfeldt, who earlier knocked out Riya Mookerjee 21-8,17-21, 21-13.
In the men section, 2015 champion Kidambi Srikanth made short work of China’s Lu Guangzu. 21-11,21-16. He will next face Swiss Open runner-up and compatriot Sai Praneeth in an all-Indian quarter-final .
Earlier Sai had prevailed over fifth seed Sameer Verma 18-21, 21-16, 21-15 in an enthralling all-Indian second round face-off.
This was Sai’s second consecutive victory over the World No. 15, just a week after getting the better of him at the Swiss Open, where he made it to the final.
Having beaten his practice partner, Sai pointed out how tough it can get facing a familiar opponent. “When you play an opponent who you play with, it is obviously tough. We know each other’s weaknesses and strengths, so with nobody outside the court to tell you something about strategies, you have to think on your own.”
HS Prannoy continued his unbeaten streak against former World No. 2 Jan O Jorgensen. With a 21-19, 20-22, 21-17 win, the Keralite registered his fourth win over the Dane in as many meetings.
Prannoy will next meet the second seed and former champion Viktor Axelsen, who needed just 32 minutes to register a commanding 21-11, 21-9 win over Thailand’s Suppanyu Avihingsanon.
Parupalli Kashyap made short work of World No. 58 Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk 21-11, 21-13 in just 37 minutes to secure his quarter-final berth. The former Commonwealth Games gold medallist ran away to 14-8 in the first game and continued the momentum in the second game to build an 11-3 lead.
Subhankar Dey failed to repeat his first round heroics and succumbed to a 16-21, 13-21 defeat to World No. 32 Wang Tzu Wei.
Fourth seed Ratchanok Intanon continued her quest for her third title with a fine 21-18, 21-11 win over China’s World No. 24 Chen Xiaoxin.
In a battle of generations, Chinese third seed He Bingjiao beat 2012 Olympic gold medallist Li Xuerui 21-18, 21-17 for her second consecutive victory over her senior compatriot.
Defending champion Beiwen Zhang beat Brittney Tam 21-6, 21-16 for her seventh win on the trot at this prestigious tournament while seventh seed Han Yue was a 21-13, 21-8 winner over Chananchida Jucharoen..
Commonwealth Games bronze medallists Ashwini Ponnappa and Sikki Reddy beat China’s Chen Xiaofei and Zhou Chaomin 21-18, 21-14.
In men’s doubles, sixth seeds Manu Attri and Sumeeth Reddy triumphed 25-23, 21-18 over Huang Kaixiang and Wang Zekang in a gritty contest.
World No. 67 women’s doubles pair of Aparna Balan and Sruthi KP dug deep to edge the 40th ranked Ng Wing Yung and Yeung Nga Ting 21-19, 7-21, 21-17. Pranaav Jerry Chopra and Shivam Sharma too reached the last-eight stage, courtesy of a 21-15, 21-11 win over Aniruddha Mayekar and Vinay Kumar Singh.
In mixed doubles, Chopra and Sikki Reddy put up a courageous display before losing 21-19, 19-21, 14-21 to the fourth seeds Hafiz Faizal and Gloria Emanuelle Widjaja.