BANGKOK, May 14: Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen advanced to the quarterfinals of the USD 500,000 Thailand Open Super 500 tournament with straight-game wins in their respective matches here on Thursday.
Two-time Olympic medallist and sixth seed Sindhu needed just 28 minutes to outclass Denmark’s Amalie Schulz 21-13, 21-15 in the women’s singles second round.
Seventh seed Lakshya, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, defeated China’s Zhu Xuan Chen 21-12, 21-13 in a men’s singles clash that lasted 39 minutes.
Sindhu will next face top seed and world No. 3 Akane Yamaguchi of Japan, while Lakshya will take on Thailand’s second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn.
India’s top-seeded men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also marched into the last-eight stage with a 21-12, 21-19 win over Malaysia’s Bryan Jeremy Goonting and Muhammad Haikal in 44 minutes.
The world No. 4 Indian duo will next meet the sixth-seeded Japanese combination of Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami.
However, former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth crashed out after going down 16-21, 21-11, 18-21 to Chinese Taipei’s world No. 47 Su Li Yang in a hard-fought contest lasting one hour and 10 minutes.
It was also the end of the road for young Devika Sihag, who had clinched her maiden Super 300 title at the Thailand Masters earlier this year. She lost 21-23, 11-21 to Thailand’s Pitchamon Opatniputh.
Lakshya made a brisk start against Chen, racing to a 6-2 lead before the Chinese player fought back to draw level at 11-11. The Indian, however, shifted gears immediately, winning six consecutive points to take firm control of the opening game.
In the second game, Lakshya looked sharper and more assured as he surged to an 11-5 advantage at the interval and never allowed Chen a way back, capitalising on pressure-induced errors from his opponent.
On the other hand, Satwik and Chirag went past the Malaysian duo of Bryan Jeremy Goonting and Muhammad Haikal in straight games, 21-12 and 21-19, in what was the pairs’ first career meeting.
Notably, Satwik and Chirag are the only top seeds in the draw with previous success in the tournament (2019, 2024). They will next take on sixth-seed Japanese duo Takumi Nomura and Yuichi Shimogami for a place in the semifinals.
The top-seed Indians, who entered the tournament fresh from India’s Thomas Cup bronze medal finish, had started off with a 21-19, 21-23, 21-10 win over Indonesians Muh Putra Erwiansyah and Bagas Maulana.
Meanwhile, Star men’s doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty on Thursday said their remarks on the lack of recognition for the country’s historic Thomas Cup triumph were aimed at sparking a larger conversation around badminton’s visibility and appreciation in India.
The world No. 4 pair of Satwik and Chirag, also the reigning Asian Games champions, were part of the Indian team that recently claimed a bronze medal at the Thomas Cup in Denmark.The duo had expressed disappointment over the relatively muted reception following India’s landmark Thomas Cup title in 2022 and the team’s bronze-medal finish this year. (PTI)
