Indonesia Open 2021: PV Sindhu survives opening-round scare, Kidambi Srikanth eases past HS Prannoy

India’s double Olympic medallist P V Sindhu avoided an unfortunate first-round exit a week ahead of the World Championships as she showcased grit and determination to outwit her opponent in the women’s singles opening round at Indonesia Open Super 1000 tournament in Bali. Sai Praneeth and Kidmabi Srikanth also advanced to the men’s singles second round on Wednesday.

After a slow start, Sindhu, the reigning world champion, engineered a turnaround to register a hard-fought 17-21 21-17 21-17 win over a tenacious Aya Ohori of Japan in one hour 10 minutes. With the win, Sindhu improved her impressive record against the Japanese shuttler to 11-0.

World number seven Sindhu, who made a semifinal exit after suffering a straight game defeat to Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi here last week, will meet 23-year-old German shuttler Yvonne Li in the second round. It will be the first meeting between the third seed Indian and world number 26 Li.

Kidambi Srikanth survives stiff test

In the men’s singles, world number 16 B Sai Praneeth clinched a 21-19 21-18 win over France’s Toma Junior Popov.

In a repeat of last week’s Indonesia Masters quarterfinal, Srikanth once again got the better of compatriot HS Prannoy.

The former world number one Srikanth, who is coming off two back-to-back semifinal finishes at Hylo Open and Indonesia Masters, continued his good run of form as he eked out a 21-15 19-21 21-12 victory over Prannoy in 56 minutes.

While Praneeth will next take on Christo Popov of France in the second round, Srikanth will meet the winner of the first round clash between Tokyo Olympics gold medallist second seed Dane Victor Axelsen and Japan’s Koki Watanbe.