Rio Olympics silver medallist Sindhu makes amends at 2nd Thailand Open
India's PV Sindhu cruised into the second round of the Thailand Open yesterday to erase the memory of her surprise first-round exit a week earlier.
The Rio Olympics silver medallist was sheer class as she pummelled Thailand's world No. 12 Busanan Ongbamrungphan 21-17, 21-13 in 43 minutes in Bangkok.
"This win was very important because at last week's tournament, I went out in the first round," said sixth seed Sindhu, who lost to Denmark's Mia Blichfeldt last week in the first of back-to-back Thailand Opens.
Ex-world No. 1 Saina Nehwal suffered a first-round loss to Thailand's Ratchanok Intanon, bowing out 21-17, 21-8.
Top seed Tai Tzu-ying, who lost to Carolina Marin in the first tournament's final, beat Thailand's Supanida Katethong 21-16, 21-11.
In the men's singles, Indian shuttler B. Sai Praneeth, who was scheduled to face Malaysia's Daren Liew today, has been withdrawn after testing positive for Covid-19.
World No. 14 Kidambi Srikanth has also pulled out and is in quarantine due to his close contact with Praneeth.
In the women's doubles, Singapore's Jin Yujia and Crystal Wong lost 22-20, 21-18 to Danish pair Alexandra Boje and Mette Poulsen in 39 minutes. - AFP
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