P.V. Sindhu, K. Srikanth and H.S. Prannoy registered come-from-behind victories to advance to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters Super 750 badminton tournament here on Thursday.
The highlight of the day was Prannoy’s stunning 14-21, 21-19, 21-16 upset victory over Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Victor Axelsen.
After losing the first game, Prannoy made a sensational recovery to eke out a memorable win against the World No. 2. This was World No. 32 Prannoy’s first victory in six attempts against Axelsen.
Reigning World champion Sindhu, seeded third, took 47 minutes to record a 17-21, 21-7, 21-12 win over Spain’s Clara Azurmendi.
Playing against World No. 47 Azurmendi for the first time, Sindhu went down in the first game before putting up a dominant performance in the next two to register a brilliant victory.
The two-time Olympic medallist will now lock horns with World No. 30 Neslihan Yigit. Sindhu has a 3-0 head-to-head record against the Turk.
Earlier, former World No. 1 Srikanth dispatched Indonesia’s sixth seed Jonatan Christie 13-21, 21-18, 21-15.
The unseeded Srikanth will meet Prannoy in the quarterfinals.
Bowing out
However, it was curtains for young Lakshya Sen and the mixed doubles pair of Dhruv Kapila and N. Sikki Reddy and the women’s pair of Ashwini Ponappa and Sikki Reddy.
The 20-year-old Lakshya went down 13-21, 19-21 to the top seed and two-time World champion Kento Momota of Japan.
The results (involving Indians, second round):
Men: H.S. Prannoy bt Victor Axelsen (Den) 14-21, 21-19, 21-16; K. Srikanth bt Jonatan Christie (Ina) 13-21, 21-18, 21-15.
Women: P.V. Sindhu bt Clara Azurmendi (Esp) 17-21, 21-7, 21-12. Doubles: Ashwini Ponappa & N. Sikki Reddy lost to Jongkolphan Kititharakul & Rawinda Prajongjai (Tha) 18-21, 12-21.
Mixed doubles: Dhruv Kapila & Sikki Reddy lost to Supak Jomkoh & Supissara Paewsampran (Tha) 15-21, 23-21, 18-21.
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