PV Sindhu Advances At Indonesia Open, Srikanth, Sen Crash Out Early

India’s campaign at the Indonesia Open saw mixed fortunes on Tuesday as two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu progressed to the second round, while former world No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth and Lakshya Sen suffered opening-round exits at the Super 1000 tournament.

Sindhu produced a gritty performance to overcome Thailand’s Busanan Ongbamrungphan 25-23, 21-16 in a 51-minute women’s singles clash. The Indian star had to work hard in a tightly contested opening game before using her attacking game to take control and close out the match in straight games.

The win adds to Sindhu’s efforts to regain consistency on the international circuit , after a phase of fluctuating results. With major events, including the World Championships, approaching later in the season, the former world champion will be aiming to build momentum through deep runs at top-level tournaments.

However, her next challenge is expected to be a major one. Sindhu is likely to face reigning Olympic champion and world No. 1 An Se-young in the second round. The South Korean holds a dominant record over Sindhu, with the Indian yet to register a win in their previous meetings, including a quarterfinal defeat at last week’s Singapore Open. The potential clash will be a key test of Sindhu’s current form against the sport’s benchmark player.

Elsewhere, it was a disappointing day for India in men’s singles. Kidambi Srikanth went down 19-21, 15-21 to Japan’s Yushi Tanaka , continuing his struggles to rediscover his peak form on the international circuit. Lakshya Sen , who had reached the quarterfinals of the Singapore Open, also exited early after losing 19-21, 16-21 to Indonesia’s Alwi Farhan .

In women’s singles, Malvika Bansod was outclassed by Thailand’s seventh seed Pornpawee Chochuwong , losing 12-21, 10-21 in a one-sided contest.

There was some relief in men’s doubles as Hariharan Amsakarunan and MR Arjun delivered a strong performance, defeating the higher-ranked Malaysian pair of Nur Mohd Azriyn Ayub and Tan Wee Kiong 21-18, 21-10 to enter the second round.

In other results, India also faced early exits in women’s doubles and mixed doubles, underlining an overall mixed opening-day performance with Sindhu’s progress and the doubles win offering positives, while struggles in singles and pair events exposed the gap at the highest level.