Badminton: PV Sindhu, HS Prannoy advance to Malaysian Open quarterfinals
On Thursday, PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy each won differently to advance to the quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open.
Prannoy destroyed World No. 4 Chou Tien Chen in 35 minutes while Sindhu defeated Thailand’s Phittayaporn Chaiwan 19-21, 21-9, 21-14 after falling behind in the first game.
The pair, who are guiding India in the World Tour Super 750 competition, will face challenging opponents in their respective last-8 matches on Friday. Prannoy is slated to play Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie, and Sindhu will compete against her archrival Tai Tzu Ying.
The former world champion Sindhu, who on Wednesday upset another Thai player, world no. 10 Pornpawee Chochuwong, got off to a poor start against Chaiwan, who successfully exploited her deceptions to catch Sindhu off guard.
However, she soon adjusted and adopted a more aggressive stance to prevent her 21-year-old opponent, who held the top spot in the world junior rankings and was also a member of the team that won the bronze medal at the Uber Cup in Bangkok, from pulling off an upset.
The only remaining Indians in the singles draw of the competition are Sindhu, Prannoy, and Parupalli Kashyap; Kashyap will play Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand later on Thursday.
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