Odense [Denmark], October 19 (ANI): Olympics medalist shuttler PV Sindhu made it to the quarterfinals of the ongoing Denmark Open women’s singles competition on Thursday.
She beat Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung by 18-21, 21-15, 21-13 in the pre-quarters match, as per Olympics.com.
Sindhu had made it to the semis of the recently concluded Artic Open.
With this win, her Badminton World Federation (BWF) ranking has improved to number 12.
PV Sindhu got off to a shaky start and surrendered the first game to Tunjung without any resistance. However, the Indian shuttler regrouped in the second game and raced to a 13-4 advantage.
Tunjung, who defeated Sindhu in the final of the Madrid Spain Masters earlier this year, rallied to tie the game at 14-14. Unfazed, Sindhu answered with a six-point burst of her own, forcing a final game.
In what turned out to be a roller-coaster third game, Sindhu trailed 10-13 at one point before winning the next 11 points in a row to close the game in minutes.
It is Sindhu’s ninth victory over Tunjung in as many encounters.
PV Sindhu will face Thailand’s world No-19 Supanida Katethong in the quarterfinals, who defeated Sindhu’s compatriot Aakarshi Kashyap in the round of 16. World No. 38, who defeated Germany’s Yvonne Li in the first round, was defeated by Katethong 18-21, 8-21.
With the departure of Aakarshi Kashyap, PV Sindhu is the sole remaining Indian player at the Denmark Open 2023.
Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth both exited the men’s singles event after losing their opening-round matches.
The Denmark Open results will be used to determine players’ qualification rankings for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. This year’s badminton qualification period began on May 1. (ANI)
