Sindhu, Lakshya enter second round

Bali, Nov 16: Two-time Olympic medallist P V Sindhu and in-form shuttler Lakshya Sen made impressive starts at the Indonesia Masters Super 750 badminton tournament, reaching the second round with contrasting wins here on Tuesday.
Reigning world champion Sindhu, seeded third, recorded a 21-15 21-19 win over Thailand’s Supanida Katethong in a 43-minute women’s singles match to set up a second-round clash with Spain’s Clara Azurmendi.
However, the highlight of the day was Lakshya’s stunning win over world no 10 Japan’s Kanta Tsuneyama in the men’s singles. The 20-year-old from Almora, displayed grit on way to a shocking 21-17 18-21 21-17 win over Kanta in an hour and 8 minutes.
Lakshya will now face top seed and two-time world champion Kento Momota of Japan in the next round.
Sindhu didn’t have much trouble in outwitting Supanida in the opening game as she ran up a lead of 11-5 and kept her opponent at a distance even after the break.
Supanida was more competitive in the second game as she kept snapping at Sindhu’s heels. The Indian opened up an 11-8 lead at the break but the Thai player kept lurking around. At 19-18, Sindhu grabbed two match points. Supanida saved one before Sindhu sealed the affair.
In men’s singles, Lakshya showed great mental fortitude as he fought back from 3-6 to jump to 13-8 with a six-point burst.
Kanta made it 16-16 but Lakshya ensured he had the last laugh as he won five of the next six points to enter the second round. (PTI)