Hong Kong: PV Sindhu was the lone Indian left standing at the Hong Kong Open Super Series badminton tournament after compatriot HS Prannoy and Saina Nehwal bowed out suffering defeats at the hands of their respective opponents.
Sindhu defeated Aya Ohori of Japan 21-14, 21-17 in 39 minutes to seal her spot in the quarterfinals. However, earlier in the day Prannoy lost 21-11, 10-21, 15-21 to Kazumasa Sakai of Japan while Saina after a bright start was beaten by Yuan Chen of China 21-18, 19-21, 10-21.
Right from the start, Sindhu looked lethal against Ohori and played aggressively to outplay her opponent in straight games. Sindhu, who have lost to Ohori only once in their seven meetings, took an initial lead of 5-1 and from then on never allowed her Japanese rival any chance to sniff back.
The lanky Hyderabadi used the angles to her advantage and her cross-court smashes had the Japanese trying desperate retrieval measures. Sindhu also used the drop shot to her advantage and also was supreme with her dribbles at the net.
The closest that Ohori came to narrowing the gap with Sindhu was when the Indian led 14-11 in the third. However, Sindhu quickly re-asserted her supremacy once more.
Both Prannoy and Saina seem to have been suffering from a long-drawn season. Both started well, winning the first game against their rivals, but as the match progressed, they appeared to have run out of breath. Saina, in particular in the match against Chen, did not have strength in her legs in the third game and the Chinese who was once down 9-13 in the second after losing the first, easily turned the match in her favour.
At a glance
PV Sindhu bt Aya Ohori 21-14, 21-17
HS Prannoy lost to Kazumasa Sakai 21-11, 10-21, 15-21
Saina Nehwal lost to Yuan Chen 21-18, 19-21, 10-21
Agencies