P V Sindhu, the renowned Indian badminton player, extended her stellar performance at the Madrid Spain Masters by securing a spot in the quarterfinals after a commanding straight-game victory over Huang Yu-Hsun from Chinese Taipei on Thursday.
Facing the 63rd-ranked Taiwanese qualifier, Sindhu faced little resistance, clinching victory with scores of 21-14 and 21-12 within a swift 36 minutes of play.
The former world champion, who narrowly missed the title in the previous edition, awaits the winner between Thailand's Supanida Katethong and Japan's Natsuki Nidaira in the upcoming round.
In another highlight for India, the men's doubles duo of MR Arjun and Dhruv Kapila displayed a commendable performance, securing their spot in the quarterfinals with a 21-17, 21-19 victory over Scotland's Christopher and Matthew Grimley.
Meanwhile, in mixed doubles, B Sumeeth Reddy and N Sikki Reddy advanced to the quarterfinals following a hard-fought 22-20, 21-18 win against USA's Presley Smith and Allison Lee.
The women's doubles pair comprising Tanisha Crasto and Ashwini Ponnappa, ranked 20th in the world and seeded third in the tournament, also progressed to the quarterfinals after defeating Australia's Tiffany Ho and Gronya Somerville with scores of 21-14 and 21-8.
However, Krishna Prasad Garage and Sai Pratheek K faced disappointment as they succumbed to a tough defeat against the Popov brothers — Christo and Toma Junior — with scores reading 16-21, 21-15, 16-21 in another men's doubles encounter.
In her match, Sindhu initially faced a slight challenge as her opponent took a narrow lead. Yet, the Indian regained control, displaying her trademark smashes and securing the first game.
In the second game, Yu-Hsun struggled with her shots, allowing Sindhu to capitalize on errors and maintain a comfortable lead until the end, ultimately sealing her victory.
With top seed Carolina Marin withdrawing from the tournament, Sindhu emerges as a strong contender for the title, marking a potential end to her title drought since her last BWF tour victory at the 2022 Singapore Open Super 500.
In other results, Kidambi Srikanth, Kiran George, and Sathish Kumar Karunakaran faced defeats in their respective men's singles matches on Wednesday night.
Read also | Smith's Confusion Over Bumrah's Limited Role Till 13th Over
Read also | PV Sindhu Makes Strong Start at Madrid Spain Masters, Progresses to Round 2
