Huelva (Spain), (Asian independent) Ace Indian shuttlers PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2021 BWF World Championships after winning their respective singles round of 16 matches, here on Thursday.
Defending champion Sindhu beat Thailand’s ninth seed Pornpawee Chochuwong 21-14, 21-18 in the pre-quarterfinal match that lasted 48 minutes, to stay on course for a second successive world badminton title.
This was the fifth win for world No 7 Sindhu over the 10th-ranked Chochuwong from eight meetings. The Thai had beaten Sindhu in the previous two meetings, including the one at the BWF World Tour Finals earlier this month.
The two-time Olympic medallist will next face Chinese Taipei’s top-seed shuttler Tai Tzu-Ying on Friday, who accounted for Scotland’s Kirsty Gilmour 21-11, 19-21, 21-10 in 48 minutes.
In the men’s singles, 12th seed Srikanth beat unseeded Guang Zu Lu of China 21-10, 21-15 to enter the last eight.
However, in women’s doubles, Ashwini Ponnappa and N Sikki Reddy suffered their seventh straight loss against Thailand’s Rawinda Prajongjai and Jongkolphan Kititharakul. The Indian pair lost the match to the sixth seeds 13-21, 15-21 in 38 minutes.
In the men’s doubles, eighth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty also went down to the ninth-seeded Malaysian duo of Ong Yew Sin and Teo Ee Yi 20-22, 21-18, 15-21 in 68 minutes. This was the third loss for the Indian pair against the Malaysians in five meetings.
