PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy Advance to Asian Games Round of 16; Women’s Doubles Pairs Secure Easy Wins

India’s top badminton players, PV Sindhu and HS Prannoy, smoothly advanced to the Round of 16 at the 19th Asian Games.

Two-time Olympic medalist Sindhu, who received a bye in the first round, triumphed in a 42-minute match against Wen-Chi Hsu of Chinese Taipei, winning 21-10, 21-15 in the Round of 32 at the Binjiang Gymnasium.

Sindhu, who clinched silver at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will face Indonesia’s Wardani Putri Kusuma in her next match. Kusuma defeated Hong Kong China’s Liang Ka Wing 21-11, 21-10 in a preliminary round match.

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Prannoy, who had been recovering from an injury that sidelined him during the Team final against China, comfortably defeated Mongolia’s Batdavaa Munkhbat 21-9, 21-12 in just 26 minutes.

In the first game, Prannoy took control by winning 10 consecutive points after a 7-7 tie. He secured the game 21-9.

Prannoy also dominated the second game, maintaining his lead against the lower-ranked Mongolian player.

In other matches, Asmita Chaliha lost to Indonesia’s Gregoria Mariska Tunjung with a score of 17-21, 16-21 in a women’s singles Round of 32 match.

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India’s women’s doubles pairs, Treesa Jolly/Gayatri Gopichand and Tanisha Crasto/Ashwini Ponnappa, advanced to the next round by defeating pairs from Maldives.

Treesa and Gayatri defeated Abdul Razzaq Aminath Nabeeha/Abdul Razzaq Fathimath Nabeeha with scores of 21-14, 21-12. Meanwhile, Tanisha and Ashwini advanced when their opponents, Maisa Fathuhulla Ismail and Aishath Afnaan Rasheed, retired while trailing 2-21, 2-12.