Lucknow, Jan 20: Ace Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy advanced to the women’s and men’s singles quarter-finals of the 2022 Syed Modi International after winning their respective matches at the Babu Banarasi Das Indoor Stadium, here on Thursday.
Former world champion Sindhu defeated Lauren Lam of the US 21-16, 21-13 in a 33 minute clash.
Both players started the match strongly. However, Sindhu went into the break with a slender lead of 11-10. From there, Indian found her groove and won the first game in 15 minutes.
The Indian badminton player kept control of the court in the second game and raced to an 11-6 lead. She then pocketed the match in straight games.
Sindhu, a two-time Olympic medallist, will now play her quarter-final clash against Thailand’s Supanida Katethong on Friday. Katethong had defeated Sindhu in the India Open semi-finals last week.
Meanwhile, HS Prannoy had to fight hard to overcome the challenge from 19-year-old Indian Priyanshu Rajawat in the men’s singles round of 16 match. He won the three-game thriller 21-11, 16-21, 21-18 in one hour and four minutes.
The Asian Championships bronze medallist will be taking on Arnaud Merkle of France in the quarter-finals.
Another Indian shuttler, Aakarshi Kashyap moved into the quarters with an easy straight games win against compatriot Sai Uttejitha Rao Chukka. The India Open semi-finalist won the match 21-9, 21-6 in 24 minutes and will now face fellow youngster Malvika Bansod on Friday.
The fourth-seeded pair of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila also progressed after receiving a walkover in their round of 16 match.