SYDNEY: India’s ace shuttler PV Sindhu stormed into the quarterfinals of the ongoing Australia Open 2023 on Thursday.
Two-time Olympics medallist, Sindhu, got better of her national compatriot Aakarshi Kashyap to prevail in the Round of 16 by iwnning two straight sets.
She took the first game quite comfortably by 21-14. Kashyap tired to regroup but failed to hold on against the star shuttler. Sindhu once again didn’t face major challenge to overcome Kashyap. Sindhu registered a dominant victory by 21-10 to move to the quarter finals.
She will go up against the American shuttler Beiwen Zhang in the quarterfinals of the Australia Open.
Sindhu will look to move further into the competition as she remained at the 17th spot. One week ago Sindhu suffered a heart break as she crashed out of the Japan Open 2023 in the Round of 32.
The Indian shuttler found it hard to match the intensity of her opponent on the day as she went down tamely in straight sets. She struggled to pick up points while Yiman cruised to a comfortable victory.
In an Asian Games year, Sindhu is having a bad season, making a first-round exit in six of her 12 BWF tournaments.
Ealier this month, Sindhu crashed out of the Korea Open Super 500 badminton tournament, losing to Pai Yu Po of Chinese Taipei 18-21, 21-10, 13-21 in 58 minutes.
Sindhu’s disappointing performances have seen her to slip to 17th in the BWF world rankings, her worst slump in a decade. Her previous highest ranking was 2nd in 2016. (ANI)