Lucknow: Indian badminton stars PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen moved closer to claiming the women’s and men’s singles titles at the Syed Modi International Super 300 tournament, securing dominant wins to advance to the semifinals on Friday.
Sindhu, the top seed and two-time champion (2017, 2022), triumphed over China's Dai Wang 21-15, 21-17 in just 48 minutes in the women’s singles quarterfinal. Meanwhile, Lakshya, the 2021 World Championship bronze medalist, easily defeated compatriot Meiraba Luwang Maisnam 21-8, 21-19 in the men’s singles quarterfinal.
“Today’s match was important. Even though she is a low-ranked player, it doesn’t matter. I corrected my mistakes from yesterday, and I didn’t repeat them today. I was aggressive from the start. Overall, I am happy with my performance,” Sindhu said.
Sindhu, ranked 18th globally, took on Wang, who is ranked 118th. "Yesterday, I went through a rough patch, but today I didn’t give her any chances. I am pleased with my game and result, and I want to finish the year on a high," she added.
Sindhu will face fellow Indian Unnati Hooda in the semifinals, while Lakshya will take on Japan's Shogo Ogawa.
“It was a good match. Overall, I’m happy with how I started. The second game was tougher, but I’m glad I pulled through,” Lakshya said.
Hooda, who won the 2022 Odisha Open, made it to the semifinals after a commanding 21-16, 21-9 win over USA's Ishika Jaiswal. “I took some time to adjust to the court conditions, but once I did, I stuck to my game plan, and it got better,” said Hooda, who missed six months earlier this year due to injury.
“For me, transitioning from junior to international badminton is a big shift, and I know I need to work on a lot of areas to compete successfully in these high-level tournaments,” she added.
In the women’s doubles, second seeds Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand, who have already qualified for the World Tour Finals in China, continued their strong run with a 21-8, 21-15 victory over sixth seeds Go Pei Kee and Teoh Mei Xing to secure their spot in the semifinals.
In the mixed doubles, fifth-seeded Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto triumphed 21-16, 21-13 against Malaysia's Loo Bing Kun and Ho Lo Ee, also advancing to the semifinals.
However, eighth-seeded Ayush Shetty, a bronze medalist at the 2023 World Junior Championships, was eliminated after a 7-21, 14-21 defeat to Ogawa in the men’s singles. In the women’s singles, Tasnim Mir and Shriyanshi Valishetty also saw their campaigns end after quarterfinal losses.
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