The double Olympic medalist PV Sindhu was eliminated from the Indonesia Open World Tour Super 1000 competition in Jakarta on Thursday after Kidambi Srikanth and HS Prannoy both won in straight games to progress to the men’s singles quarterfinals.
When Srikanth took the court first, he utilised his extensive knowledge to defeat Lakshya Sen 21-17 22-20 in an all-Indian second-round matchup.
The 45-minute match saw a fierce struggle between the two Indians, but Srikanth prevailed over Lakshya by seizing the vital moments with his composure and wisdom.
Srikanth’s supremacy over his younger countryman was cemented with the victory as he improved his head-to-head record against Lakshya to 3-0.
Then, it took only 43 minutes for seventh-seeded Prannoy to defeat Hong Kong’s Angus Ng Ka Long 21-18 21-16.
To her nemesis and world number 3 Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei, Sindhu lost in a women’s singles second round match, 21-18, 21-16, and was eliminated early once more.
In the previous two competitions, Sindhu had lost in the first round.
The third-seeded Tai Tzu has often been the opponent Sindhu has battled with in the international setting, and it was no different here as the Chinese Taipei shuttler improved her record versus the Indian to an astounding 19-5.
The most recent match between Sindhu and Tai Tzu took place at the 2023 Sudirman Cup, with the Chinese Taipei player winning 21-14 18-21 21-17.
With Sindhu’s defeat, the Indian challenge in the women’s singles competition was over.
Contrary to the eventual outcome, Lakshya got things going earlier in the day. She took an early 4-0 lead in the first game before Srikanth fought back.
Before Srikanth came out aggressively and exploited the court to great use to wear out his younger competitor and win four consecutive points to win the opening game, it was evenly matched till 17 points.
Similar to the first game, both shuttlers matched each other for the first 13 points of the second game until Srikanth won six consecutive points to take the lead and win 20-14.
The silver medalist at the 2021 World Championships lost six match points, however, as Lakshya came back spectacularly to tie the score at 20 each.
However, Srikanth emerged victorious as he maintained his calm to score the last two points and end the match.
In the next round, Li Shi Feng of China will face Prannoy, who will play third-seeded Kodai Naraoka of Japan. Li Shi Feng defeated fourth-seeded Loh Kean Yew of Singapore 21-19 21-14 in another second-round encounter.
Priyanshu Rajawat, a rising Indian shuttler, lost to Anthony Ginting, the local favourite and current world No. 2, 22-20, 15-21, 15-21, ending his season in the pre-quarterfinals.
Rajawat, a part of the legendary Indian squad from 2022 that won the Thomas Cup, received a walkover from Thai player Kunlavut Vitidsarn in the first round before going on to win his first World Tour championship at the Orleans Masters earlier this year.
Rajawat showed a fierce fight as he overcame a 5–12 disadvantage to win the opening game against the heavyweight. However, Ginting utilised all of his knowledge to defeat the 21-year-old Indian in the next two games and clinch a spot in the quarterfinals.
Earlier, Satwiksairaj Ranikreddy and Chirag Shetty, the world No. 5 men’s doubles team and champions of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, easily defeated China’s He Ji Ting and Zhou Hao Dong 21-17 21-15 in 46 minutes.
In the quarterfinals, the seventh-seeded Indian player will compete against the top seeds Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Rian Ardianto.
