Changzhou (China): Olympic and World Championships silver medallist PV Sindhu progressed Tuesday to the pre-quarterfinals of the USD one million China Open World Tour Super 1000 badminton tournament here.
The third-seeded Indian defeated World No. 39 Saena Kawakami of Japan 21-15, 21-13 in the opening round at the Olympic Sports Center Xincheng Gymnasium here.
The match started out as a close contest with Sindhu and Saena before the Indian broke off to grab a 13-7 lead at one stage. She kept dominating the rallies and pocketed the opening game without much trouble.
In the second game, Sindhu zoomed to a 6-0 lead but Saena managed to make it 8-10 before the Indian entered the interval with a slender 11-9 lead.
After the break, Sindhu jumped to 15-11 before grabbing eight match points at 20-12 and sealed the game and along with it the match comfortably. Sindhu was very good at the net and engaged her opponent in long rallies. She also came up with some very good smashes from the deuce court.
“It was important to have a good start here and I did that,” Sindhu said after the match. “Hopefully I can continue with the same momentum,” Sindhu who won the 2016 edition of the tournament added.
Later in the day, Saina Nehwal will start her campaign against Korea’s Sung Ji Hyun, who is a tough competitor. Saina has a 8-2 head-to-head record against the Korean.
