Teen sensation P.V. Sindhu and rising shuttler R.M.V. Gurusaidutt reached the quarterfinals of Asian Badminton Championship with hard-fought, three-game wins in the women’s and men’s singles competition of the $200,000 event here on Thursday.
World No. 10 Sindhu, who had lost thrice to Japan’s Eriko Hirose, including in last year’s edition of the ABC, avenged her losses with a 14-21, 21-13, 21-18 win in an hour and 13 minutes.
The 18-year-old will next take on Thailand’s Busanan Ongbumrungpan, ranked 18th in the world, who notched up an upset 22-24, 21-19, 21-15 win over third-seeded Korean Bae Yeon Ju.
Sindhu, who won the Malaysian Open and Macau Open besides the World Championship bronze last year, holds a 2-0 win record against Busanan. The Indian had beaten the Thai last at the All England Championships in 2013.
In men’s singles, Gurusaidutt, ranked 38 in the world, bounced back after the opening game loss to edge out Chinese Taipei’s Wang Tzu Wei 17-21, 21-13, 21-19. The Indian will take on Chinese qualifier Liu Kai next.
P. Kashyap, however, went down fighting to Hsu Jen Hao of Chinese Taipei 25-23, 21-17 in another hour-long match.
In the women’s doubles, Commonwealth Games gold medallist pair of Ashwini Ponnappa and G. Jwala prevailed over the third-seeded Thailand combo of Aroonkesorn Duanganong and Voravichitchaikul Kunchala 21-11, 21-18.
The 2011 World Championship bronze medallists will next take on Malaysia’s Anscelly Amelia Alicia and Soong Fie Cho.
