Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy have advanced to the round of 16 stage of the Indonesia Open 2023 badminton in the women’s and men’s singles events, respectively.
Olympic medallist Sindhu defeated local player Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in a straight game, 21-19, 21-15, to end her two-match losing streak against the Indonesian, as per Olympics.com. Sindhu’s win is remarkable, as Tunjung knocked her out in the Malaysia Masters semi-finals. Earlier, the Indonesian shuttler had beaten her in the Madrid, Spain, Masters title with a victory in the final.
In the opening game, PV Sindhu and Gregoria Mariska Tunjung played toe-to-toe, with the lead changing hands multiple times. With the game deadlocked at 14, the Indian stepped up her game and won five straight points to grab the lead despite several tight rallies.
The second game was more straightforward, as PV Sindhu dominated Tunjung and sealed the match with ease. PV Sindhu, a former world champion, will face world No. 3 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei, who is also the defending Indonesia Open champion, in round two.
In the men’s singles tournament, India’s HS Prannoy, ranked eighth in the world, won 21-16, 21-14, over Japan’s world No. 11 Kenta Nishimoto in the opening round of the BWF World Tour Super 1000 event to enter the pre-quarterfinal. HS Prannoy will next play world No. 16 Angus Ng Ka Long of Hong Kong, who defeated two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan in round 1.
Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost their first match in the women’s doubles to Japan’s Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi, 22-20, 12-21, 16-21. Treesa and Gayatri have now lost four consecutive first-round matches on the BWF World Tour this season.
