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Sindhu qualifies for women’s singles semi-final

The Indian ace tried to mount a comeback using her height to create angles but Goh Jin Wei unleashed a flurry of smashes to take the opening game…reports Asian Lite News

Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu reached the women’s singles semifinals at the Commonwealth Games 2022 after seeing off a tough challenge from Malaysian No 1 Goh Jin Wei in the quarter-finals, here on Saturday.

Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, beat Goh Jin Wei 19-21, 21-14, 21-18 at the National Exhibition Centre for her second win over the Malaysian at CWG 2022. She had beaten the Youth Olympic Games champion 22-20, 21-17 in India’s mixed team final earlier in the week.

Former world champion Sindhu started the match strongly but Goh Jin Wei, seeded sixth, went into the break trailing by just two points. Goh Jin Wei then used her skillful drop shots to trouble PV Sindhu and lead for the first time in the match at 16-15.

The Indian ace tried to mount a comeback using her height to create angles but Goh Jin Wei unleashed a flurry of smashes to take the opening game.

Sindhu, known for her endurance, amped up her game to tire out Goh Jin Wei with longer rallies and lead 11-8 at the second break. Goh Jin Wei, who is on a comeback trail after retiring due to health reasons last year, struggled physically and could not close the gap as the match stretched into the decider.

With tactics paying off, Sindhu continued to test Goh Jin Wei physically with an average of nine shots per rally. Despite trailing at one stage, she persisted to beat Jin Wei in one hour and 17 minutes.

This will be Sindhu’s third straight semi-finals at the Commonwealth Games. She has a bronze and a silver from the 2014 and 2018 editions, respectively. The 27-year old will now take on the fourth seed Yeo Jia Min from Singapore for a place in the final.

World championships silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth and India’s highest-ranked men’s badminton player Lakshya Sen will be in action later in the day in the men’s singles badminton event.

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Sindhu, Srikanth win singles openers at Commonwealth Games

Sreeshankar, who has a personal best of 8.36m, topped Group A in the qualifying round, with a leap of 8.05 while Muhammed Anees was eight with an effort of 7.88m…reports Asian Lite News

Indian athletes were off to a good start on the seventh day of competitions at the 2002 Commonwealth Games here with two-time Olympic medallist P.V Sindhu and former World No.1 Kidambi Srikanth storming into the next round in women’s and men’s singles respectively while the track and field athletes Manju Bala (hammer throw) and sprinter Hima Das (women’s 200m) making it to the next stage in their respective disciplines.

In the evening, long jumpers Murali Sreeshankar and Muhammed Anees Yahiya will be lining up for the finals, hoping to add to the bronze medal that Tejaswin Shankar won in the high jump on Wednesday.

Sreeshankar, who has a personal best of 8.36m, topped Group A in the qualifying round, with a leap of 8.05 while Muhammed Anees was eight with an effort of 7.88m.

On Thursday, Sindhu stormed into the next round with a comprehensive 2-0 win against Fathimath Nabaaha Abdul Razzaq of Maldives in a Round of 32 match in Hall 5 at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) here.

Sindhu, the top seed here who has already helped India win silver in the Mixed Team competition, did not break a sweat in outplaying her 23-year-old opponent from Maldives 21-4, 21-11.

Sindhu is hoping to add a gold medal to the silver she won in women’s singles at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Srikanth, who too won a silver medal in men’s singles in 2018, started his campaign in individual events with a commanding 21-9, 21-9 win against Daniel Wanagaliya of Uganda in a second-round match. Srikanth had a bye in the first round and will next take on the winner of the match between Sri Lanka’s D. Abeywickrama and Cassar S. of Malta to be played later in the evening.

Meanwhile, at the Alexander Stadium, former Youth Olympic Games medallist Hima Das topped Heat 1 in Women’s 200m in 23.42 seconds and qualified for the semifinals. Overall, Hima was placed eighth in the list of 24 players topped by Nigeria’s Favour Ofili in 22.71 while Jamaica’s sprint legend Elaine Thompson-Herah, a five-time Olympic medallist in 100m, 200m and 4×100 relay since Rio 2016, qualified for the semis in 22.80.

In Women’s Hammer Throw, Indian strongwoman Manju Bala hurled the hammer to 59.68 metres to qualify for the final to be held on August 6. Compatriot Sarita Romit Singh managed a throw of 57.48m to finish 13th as the top 12 placed throwers qualified for the final.

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Malaysian Open: Sindhu enters second round

Chochuwong fought hard to stay in the match in the second game. Sindhu, however, once again broke free late with six consecutive points after trailing 15-17…reports Asian Lite News

Ace Indian shuttlers,PV Sindhu and Parupalli Kashyap, moved into the second round while Saina Nehwal crashed out in the opening round at the Malaysia Open 2022 women’s and men’s singles events respectively at the Axiata Arena, here on Wednesday.

Sindhu, seventh in the badminton world rankings, beat world No 10 Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand 21-13, 21-17 in the first round.

On the other hand, World No 26 Saina, who was competing for the first time since the Thailand Open in May, was beaten by 30th-ranked Iris Wang of the US 11-21, 17-21.

The London 2012 bronze medallist is yet to go past the second round this year.

Former world champion Sindhu took control of the match from the start with a four-point lead at the first break. With scores at 16-13, Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, won five successive points to take the 1-0 lead.

Chochuwong fought hard to stay in the match in the second game. Sindhu, however, once again broke free late with six consecutive points after trailing 15-17.

With this win, Sindhu improved her head-to-head record over Chochuwong to 6-3. She will now face world No 20 Phittayaporn Chaiwan of Thailand in the second round.

Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games gold medallist Parupalli Kashyap, got better of South Korea’s Heo Kwang Hee 21-12, 21-17 in the first round of men’s singles.

In the women’s doubles, Ashwini Bhat and Shikha Gautam went down to two-time world champions Mayu Matsumoto and Wakana Nagahara of Japan 11-21, 14-21.

India’s mixed doubles pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and B Sumeeth Reddy also lost to European Games medallists Robin Tabeling and Selena Piek of the Netherlands 15-21, 21-19, 17-21 to make a first-round exit.

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Sindhu beats Thailand’s Busanan to win Swiss Open

Ranked seventh in the badminton world rankings, Sindhu went into the final with a 15-1 head-to-head record over world No 11 Ongramrungphan…reports Asian Lite News

Ace Indian shuttler P.V Sindhu clinched the women’s singles title in the 2022 Swiss Open, beating Thailand’s Busanan Ongramrungphan in the final at the St Jakobshalle arena, here on Sunday.

Double Olympic medallist Sindhu registered a 21-16, 21-8 win over Ongramrungphan in 49 minutes to claim the Super 300 crown. This was her second title of the year after winning the Syed Modi International in January.

Ranked seventh in the badminton world rankings, Sindhu went into the final with a 15-1 head-to-head record over world No 11 Ongramrungphan.

The match ebbed and flowed in the early exchanges, with both shuttlers fighting for every point. While the Indian ace relied on her big smashes, Busanan was effective with her perfectly placed cross-court shots, especially near the net.

The first mid-game break saw Sindhu take a narrow two-point lead. She managed to break away late into the opening game after the Thai made a series of unforced errors.

However, the second game was in complete contrast to the first, with Sindhu racing to a big 11-2 lead. Busanan provided little resistance in the remainder of the game as Sindhu clinched the title with ease.

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Swiss Open: India’s top shuttlers in quarter-finals

With Kashyap too reaching the last-eight stage, India are assured of a place in the semi-finals as Kashyap, the former Commonwealth Games medallist, is set to meet Prannoy in the quarter-finals…reports Asian Lite News

Top Indian singles players Kidambi Srikanth, World Championships silver medallist, and H.S Prannoy advanced to the quarter-finals with hard-fought wins while Parupalli Kashyap too made it after World No 1 and Olympic Champion Viktor Axelsen gave a walkover in the Swiss Open badminton championship here on Thursday.

World N.o 12 Srikanth, seeded 7th here, got the better of Christo Popov of France in three games, fighting back after losing the first game to win 13-21, 25-23, 21-11. Prannoy too came back from a game down to overcome Kalle Koljonen of Finland, winning 19-21, 21-13, 21-9 in four minutes less than an hour in the USD 180,000 prize money event at St. Jakobshalle, Basel.

With Kashyap too reaching the last-eight stage, India are assured of a place in the semi-finals as Kashyap, the former Commonwealth Games medallist, is set to meet Prannoy in the quarter-finals.

Former World Champion PV Sindhu, the second seed here, too advanced to the women’s singles quarterfinals by beating Yigit Neslihan of Turkey 21-19, 21-14 in 42 minutes.

Young Indian shuttler Ashmita Chaliha exited the event, losing 18-21, 20-22 in a hard-fought encounter to eighth-seed Kirsty Gilmour of Scotland.

India’s top men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, the third seeds, were upset by Pramudya Kusumawardana and Yeremia Erich Yoche Yacob Rambitan of Indonesia in a pre-quarterfinal clash, losing 19-21, 20-22 after their attempt to fight back in the game were thwarted by their rivals.

Srikanth fell behind in the first game as Popov surged ahead from 2-2 to 4-2 and then to 11-4 to take a big lead. The 29-year-old ranked 12th in the World, fought back to reduce the score to 8-11. But the French shuttler could not be denied as he kept winning points to win the first game 21-13.

In the second game. Srikanth fought valiantly with his French rival as scores went neck-and-neck as the lead changed hands many times before eventually winning it 25-23 saving two game points.

In the third game, Srikanth took lead from 3-3 to 11-9 before surging ahead to an 18-9 lead and eventually won it 21-11 to win the match in one hour and 13 minutes.

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All-England Open Badminton: Top Indian shuttlers enter second round

Sindhu, the sixth seed in the tournament, will now face the winner of the match between Japan’s Sayaka Takahashi and Supanida Katethong of Thailand in the second round…reports Asian Lite News

PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, Lakshya Sen and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the second round of the 2022 All-England Open Badminton Championships after winning their respective first-round matches, here on late Wednesday night.

Sindhu, the world No 7, defeated Chinese world No 17 Wang Zhi Yi 21-18, 21-13 in her first-round match of the BWF Super 1000 tournament.

Two-time Olympic medallists began the match strongly and raced to a handy lead after the early exchanges. Wang Zhi Yi tried to pull the game back but Sindhu’s early momentum proved to be the difference. In the second game, the India ace continued to dominate her Chinese opponent and went up 9-0 in quick time. She went on to seal the match in 42 minutes.

Sindhu, the sixth seed in the tournament, will now face the winner of the match between Japan’s Sayaka Takahashi and Supanida Katethong of Thailand in the second round.

Meanwhile, Saina Nehwal ranked world No 25, defeated world No 51 Beatriz Corrales of Spain 21-17, 21-19 in straight games.

Corrales had replaced Saina Nehwal’s initial opponent, Pornpawee Chochuwong of Thailand. The world No 10 Thai shuttler pulled out from the tournament at the last minute. Nehwal will be up against world No. 2 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan in the second round.

In men’s singles, HS Prannoy lost to German Open champion Kunlavut Vitidsarn 21-15 24-22 while former world championships bronze medallist B Sai Praneeth went down to Tokyo Olympics champion Viktor Axelsen 20-22, 11-21, an olympics.com report said.

Another top Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen, who won silver at the German Open last week, defeated compatriot Sourabh Verma 21-17, 21-7 in his opening match of the England Open. Kidambi Srikanth, ranked world No 12 beat Thai world No 21 Kantaphon Wangcharoen 21-18, 21-14 while Parupalli Kashyap lost 11-21, 18-21 to world No 5 Anthony Sinisuka Ginting.

In women’s doubles, Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand stunned India Open champions Benyapa Aimsaard and Nuntakarn Aimsaard 17-21, 22-20, 21-14. However, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy lost to Japan’s Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi 9-21, 13-21 and made an early exit.

Top Indian men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty, ranked world No 8, beat Scotland’s Alexander Dunn and Adam Hall 21-17, 21-19. The Indians saved four-game points against the world No. 36 pair in the second game to move into the next round.

In other results for Indian shutters on Day 1, Sameer Verma lost to Mark Caljouw 18-21, 11-21 while Krishna Prasad Garaga-Vishnuvardhan Goud also went down to Mark Lamsfuss-Marvin Seidel 16-21, 19-21.

Srivedya Gurazada-Ishika Jaiswal lost to Rachel Honderich-Kristen Tsai 21-9, 21-4 and Meghana Jakkampudi-S Ram Poorvisha lost against Puttita Supajirakul-Supissara Paewsampran 5-21, 3-21. On the other hand, MR Arjun-Dhruv Kapila lost to Muhammad Ahsan-Hendra Setiawan 21-15, 12-21, 18-21.

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