NEW DELHI: Second seed
PV Sindhu, the last Indian shuttler at the
China Open Super Series Premier
, has progressed into the quarterfinals with a 21-15, 21-13 victory over Chinese teenager
Han Yue
in Shanghai on Thursday.
Olympic silver medallist Sindhu will clash with another Chinese qualifier Gao Fangjie for a place in the semifinals on Friday.
In the first meeting between the two opponents, World No 2 Sindhu edged ahead of the 17-year-old as the opening game progressed. Initially it appeared like a close contest was on the cards, after Han, ranked 105 in women's singles, matched Sindhu to 5-6, but the experienced pro eased ahead. Sindhu dropped just five points while moving from 12-10 to 21-15 in the game one.
ALSO READ: Saina Nehwal, HS Prannoy crash out in second roundThe second game saw Sindhu speed ahead 6-0 and extend her lead to 11-3 by the break. Han fought back to make 9-12 as Sindhu faltered somewhat, but the Indian took five consecutive points off her to put the result out of doubt, before closing out the game in a flurry.
ALSO READ: PV Sindhu, Saina Nehwal, HS Prannoy in round twoHer win gave Indian fans a lift following the exits of
HS Prannoy and
Saina Nehwal - who who last week won the men's and women's singles titles at the national badminton championships - lost earlier in the day.
World No 11 HS Prannoy suffered an upset defeat to 53rd-ranked Cheuk Yiu Lee of China in straight games 21-19, 21-17 across 42 minutes, and Saina, ranked 11th in the women's singles, was beaten by World No 4
Akane Yamaguchi
21-18, 21-11 for her fourth loss to the Japanese shuttler this year.
Read this story in BengaliRead this story in Marathi