PV Sindhu, Srikanth Cruise into Second Round at Indonesia Masters

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu and former world No.1 Kidambi Srikanth kept India’s hopes alive at the Indonesia Masters as they advanced to the second round of their respective events on Wednesday.

Fifth seed Sindhu faced a determined challenge from Japan’s Manami Suizu , but managed to hold her nerve in a tightly contested women’s singles clash. The Indian star emerged victorious 22-20, 21-18 in a 53-minute battle, setting up her next round with confidence.

Srikanth, currently ranked 33rd in the world, had to dig deep to overcome world No.22 Koki Watanabe . The match stretched for one hour and 12 minutes, with Srikanth eventually prevailing 21-15, 21-23, 24-22 in a thriller. He will now face fourth seed Chou Tien Chen of Chinese Taipei in the second round. Chou advanced after defeating Ireland’s Nhat Nguyen 21-14, 21-15.

While Sindhu and Srikanth progressed, other Indian shuttlers failed to make it through the opening round. Kiran George suffered a 17-21, 14-21 defeat at the hands of Indonesia’s Moh Zaki Ubaidillah , ending his campaign early. In women’s singles, Akarshi Kashyap also bowed out after losing 21-8, 20-22, 17-21 to Julie Dawall Jakobsen .

India’s mixed doubles campaign ended in the first round as both pairs were eliminated. Rohan Kapoor and Ruthvika Gadde went down 9-21, 20-22 to French fourth seeds Thom Gicquel and Delphine Delrue , while Dhruv Kapila and Tanish Crasto lost 23-21, 20-22, 6-21 to another French duo, Julien Maio and Lea Palermo .

With Sindhu and Srikanth still in the fray, India will look to build momentum as the tournament progresses.