Sindhu advances to second round, Sen, Prannoy bow out of Indonesia Open

Jakarta: Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu battled her way into the second round of the Indonesia Open Super 1000 badminton tournament but it was curtains for Lakshya Sen, who went down fighting against world number two Shi Yu Qi, here Tuesday.

Sindhu overcame long-time rival Nozomi Okuhara of Japan 22-20, 21-23, 21-15 in an absorbing one-hour and 19-minute clash in the women's singles.

Sen, the 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, battled valiantly before falling 11-21 22-20 15-21 to his formidable Chinese rival in a gripping first round men's singles contest that lasted 65 minutes.

The 23-year-old Sen, returning from a back injury that had ruled him out last week's tournament in Malaysia, showed remarkable resilience. Trailing 11-17 in the second game, he mounted a spirited comeback, saving a match point and clinching the game 22-20 to force a decider.

However, the momentum proved short-lived as Shi grabbed control in the third game to seal the match.

HS Prannoy also bowed out from the USD 1,450,000 tournament. The 2023 World Championships bronze medallist lost 17-21, 18-21 to Indonesia's Alwi Farhan.

Sindhu vs Okuhara

Both Sindhu had Okuhara, former world champions, have struggled in recent time. While Sindhu's best performance this season was a quarterfinal finish at the India Open in January, Okuhara hasn't made it past the second round in six events.

The two stars added another chapter to their rivalry story, engaging in a war of attrition in an error-marred match that had plenty of game points and match points.

Sindhu edged a tense first game 22-20, saving a game point and producing attacking shots at clutch moments.

In the second game, Sindhu held a slender two-point lead early on but trailed 7-11 at the mid-game interval. She clawed her way back, earning two match points with a thunderous cross-court smash.

But unforced errors continued to creep in, allowing Okuhara to level at 20-20. The Japanese eventually took the second game 23-21.

The decider followed a familiar pattern of conservative play, with neither of the two taking undue risks.

Sindhu led 11-9 at the break and then unleashed a series of winners to surge to 20-12. The Indian star earned eight match points and sealed the win by converting the fifth to book her spot in the round of 16.

The win helped Sindhu improve her head-to-head to 11-9 against Okuhara, who had defeated the Indian in the 2017 World Championships.

"14 years. 20 matches. From my longest to the shortest World Championship finals — always with her. We've shared wins, losses, and a rivalry only we understand. Keep fighting, Nozomi. The court’s never quite the same without you," Sindhu tweeted after the game.

Sindhu was the lone Indian women's singles player who advanced to the next round, where she will take on sixth seed Pornpawee Chochiwong of Thailand.

Malvika Bansod retired mid-way through her women's singles match against Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia. The Indian was leading 21-16 16-15 before she slipped on the court and clutched her knee in pain before retiring.

Anupama Upadhyaya went down in straight games 15-21, 9-21 to Korea's Kim Ga Eun while Rakshitha Ramraj too lost her opener 21-14, 15-21, 12-21 to Thailand's Supanida.