Picture Credit: Twitter
Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and in-form HS Prannoy notched up yet another close win to advance into quarterfinals stage of the Singapore Open Super 500 badminton tournament on Thursday. Third-seeded Sindhu played a close game against Vietnam's world number 59 Thuy Ling Nguyen and won 19-21, 21-19, 21-18 in the women's singles competition to set up a clash with China's Han Yue.
While playing on court 1, Sindhu started off on low note as she lost the first game after giving a close fight to her opponent. The Indian badminton star kept her calm afterwards as she went on to win her next two games on the trot. Both the players fought hard to advance into quarters, but eventually, it was Indian start who won the game.
Meanwhile, 19th-seeded Prannoy notched up his second win in three weeks over world number 4 Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei 14-21, 22-20, 21-18 in an hour and nine minute contest. After losing the first game, Prannoy delivered his best game in next two sets as he outplayed his opponent in both the sets to reach quarter-finals.
The 29-year-old India player will now face Japan's Kodai Naraoka in the quarters. While, Sindhu and Prannoy stormed into quarter-final stage, Mithun Manjunath, who was riding high on confidence after defeating his compatriot Kidami Srikanth, bowed down to Ireland's Nhat Nguyen by losing 9-21, 13-21 to Han Yue of China.
Earlier, Saina Nehwal made a winning start to her Singapore Open 2022 campaign. While playing on Court 4, Nehwal defeated her compatriot Malvika Bansod 21-18, 21-15 in a match that lasted just 34 minutes. On the other hand, Indian shuttler Parupalli Kashyap lost in the first round of the men's singles category. Kashyap was defeated by Indonesia's Jonatan Christie 21-14, 21-15 in a match that lasted 37 minutes.