suncheon† Ace Indian Shuttle PV Sindhu advanced to the quarter-finals with an easy win over Japan’s Aya Ohori, but Lakshya Sen and Malvika Bansod were ousted after losing their respective second-round matches at the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament here on Thursday.
World number seven Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medalist, defeated world number 26 Ohori 21-15 21-10 in a one-sided match to take her head-to-head tally against the Japanese to a stunning 12-0. in 13 meetings.
The third-placed Indian will then face a known foe in Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan, whom she defeated in the final of the Swiss Open last month.
The former world champion, who has two Super 300 titles to his name this season at Syed Modi International and Swiss Open, has a 16-1 lead in 17 encounters against the world’s number 11 Thai.
The bronze medalist of the World Cup Sen, ninth in the world, lost 20-22 9-21 against the number 24 in the world Shesar Hiren Rhustavito in 33 minutes.
The country’s other fast-growing shuttler, Bansod, also failed to advance to the quarter-finals when she was swept out by Thai Pornpawee Chochuwong 8-21 14-21 in a 39-minute second round of women’s singles.
It was also curtains for the mixed doubles Sumeeth Reddy and Ashwini Ponnappa. The duo fought hard, but eventually went down 20-22 21-18 14-21 to the fifth seed Chinese combination of Ou Xuan Yi and Huang Ya Qiong in a grueling battle that lasted nearly an hour.
During the 37-minute second round match, Sindhu didn’t seem to have too much of a problem as she kept things under control to be supreme.
The Indian got off to a good start, taking a small one-point lead at 8-7 only once, but that was erased in no time as she finished the opening game comfortably.
The Japanese tried to make a comeback in the second with an 8-4 lead, but it was settled with authority when Sindhu took 17 of the next 19 runs to slam the door on her opponent.
Previously, sixth-seeded Sen, who has been in sensational form for the past six months with successive finals at the German Open and All England Championships, was defeated by Rhustavito in the hard-fought first match.
The 20-year-old Indian then lost steam and struggled in the second to meekly concede the draw.
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