Indian medal aspirants P V Sindhu and Parupalli Kashyap notched up straight-game wins in the women’s and men’s singles event to storm into the semifinals of the badminton competition at the 20th Commonwealth Games on Friday.
World No 11 Sindhu didn’t break any sweat as she brushed aside New Zealand’s Anna Rankin 21-10 21-9 in a 24-minute match while Kashyap, ranked 22, drubbed Daren Liew of Malaysia 21-13 21-14 in a match that lasted 38 minutes.
Sindhu, the world championship bronze medallist, will next take on Canada’s Michelle Li, while Delhi Games bronze winner Kashyap will meet Rajiv Ouseph of England in Saturday’s semifinals.
On Thursday, Sindhu had beaten Sri Lankan A Thilini Hendahewa 21-14, 21-14 in barely 26 minutes in her round of 16 match.
Sindhu and Kashyap had lost their respective matches against Li and Ouseph during the mixed team event against England and they would be desperate to seek revenge.
Kashyap said: “I have trained a lot with Daren Liew in Malaysia, but the last time, he beat me. I knew my game was really good though, so I played with confidence and just tried to play my own game.”
On progressing through the competition: “I’ve played for about a week in this stadium so I’ve got used to the conditions and my game is getting better.”
On the incentive to win a medal after finishing fourth in the mixed team event, Sindhu said: “It was a bit disappointing we just missed out.
“You have to be focused on what is best for the team. It was tough but we had to deal with it.”
