Indian shuttlers made a strong start at the China Masters Super 750 badminton tournament on Wednesday, with PV Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, and doubles pair Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty progressing to the next round.
World No. 19 and two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu delivered a commanding performance, defeating Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-17, 21-19 in just 50 minutes. This win marked her 20th victory in 21 encounters with the Thai shuttler.
Sindhu, who is aiming to rediscover her best form, will next face Singapore’s Yeo Jia Min in the second round.
In the men’s singles, Lakshya Sen avenged his Paris Olympics bronze-medal match loss by defeating Malaysia’s seventh-seeded Lee Zii Jia in a thrilling three-game encounter. The 57-minute match ended 21-14, 13-21, 21-13 in Lakshya’s favor.
The 22-year-old Indian surged to an early lead in the decider and displayed composure to close out the match, overcoming a brief fightback from Lee. Lakshya will next face either Denmark’s Rasmus Gemke or Japan’s Kenta Nishimoto.
Defending champions Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty marked their return to competitive action with a gritty victory over Chinese Taipei’s Lee Jhe-Huei and Yang Po-Hsuan. After losing the first game 12-21, the Indian duo fought back to win 21-19, 21-18 in a match lasting over an hour.
The Asian Games gold medallists, playing their first match since the Paris Olympics, will now face Denmark’s Rasmus Kjaer and Frederik Soggard in the pre-quarterfinals. Satwik, who had been recovering from an injury, expressed relief at being back on the court.
World No. 36 Malvika Bansod produced a major upset, defeating Denmark’s world No. 21 Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt 20-22, 23-21, 21-16 to advance to the second round. Bansod will face eighth-seeded Supanida Katethong of Thailand next.
In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand cruised past Chinese Taipei’s Hu Ling Fang and Jheng Yu Chieh 21-15, 21-14. The duo, currently ranked eighth in the BWF World Tour rankings, is on the brink of qualifying for the prestigious season-ending BWF World Tour Finals in December.
“It will be great if we qualify,” said Gayatri. “We are just trying to give our best and enjoy every game.”
With India’s top players performing well across categories, the tournament promises exciting prospects. Sindhu, Sen, and the Satwik-Chirag duo have set a strong tone, signaling India’s intent to make a deep impact at the China Masters.
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