Lakshya, Sindhu advance to quarters

Lucknow: PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen won their respective matches to enter the quarterfinals of the Syed Modi India International HSBC World Tour Super 300 Badminton Championship 2024 at the Babu Banarasi Das Badminton Academy on Thursday. The day also witnessed several upsets, with Malvika Bansod, Kiran George, and the mixed doubles pair of B. Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy being knocked out of the tournament. In the women's singles category, PV Sindhu had to dig deep to defeat Ira Sharma 21-10, 12-21, 21-15. After comfortably winning the first game, Sindhu struggled in the second but displayed her experience and resilience in the decider. She will now face China's Dai Wang in the quarterfinals. In men's singles, Lakshya Sen secured a straightforward victory over Israel's Daniel Dubovenko, winning 21-14, 21-13. The Commonwealth Games gold medalist will next face fellow Indian Maisnam Meiraba. Meanwhile, unseeded Shriyanshi Wali Shetty shocked second-seeded Malvika Bansod 21-12, 21-15, and Unnati Hooda pulled off a stunning win over Thailand's Pornpicha Choeikewong, prevailing 21-18, 22-20, to enter the quarterfinals. In the women's doubles category, top-seeded Ashwini Ponnappa and Tanisha Crasto, as well as the fifth-seeded pair of Shruti Mishra and Priya Konjengbam, advanced to the last eight. Ponnappa and Crasto defeated Chinese Taipei's Chen Su Yu and Yi Yin H 21-19, 8-21, 21-12. In mixed doubles, India's top-seeded duo of B. Sumeeth Reddy and Sikki Reddy faced a surprising exit, losing to Malaysia's Loo Bing Kun and Ho Lo Yee 19-21, 21-16, 21-13.