Indonesia Open 2019: PV Sindhu enters the quarterfinals, Kidambi Srikanth knocked out

PV Sindhu entered the quarterfinals of Indonesia Open 2019 on an otherwise disappointing day for India. She beat beat Mia Blichfeldt of Denmark 21-14, 17-21, 21-11.

In the first game, Blichfeldt started on positive note, taking an early 6-3 lead. Sindhu came back strongly to take four points in succession to level the scores at 7-7. And at the interval, the Indian led 11-9. She continued her domination for the rest of the set and won the first one easily, 21-14.

Blichfeldt came back in the second, playing with aggression in the game and forcing Sindhu to commit unforced errors. The Dane created pressure and led 11-9 at the interval. The Indian kept it tight till 16-15, but after that Mia took four points in succession to lead 19-15 and was able to close the set out at 21-17.

It was Sindhu's turn then to make a comeback. In the third game, Sindhu went from tied at 2-2 to lead 11-4 at the interval, having taken the fight to the Dane. The Indian never looked back and won the third set 21-11 easily to move into the quarterfinals. She will take on Nozomi Okhuara on Friday, 19 July 2019.

The men's challenge ended when Kidambi Srikanth was outplayed by his opponent from Hong Kong. NG Ka Long Angus beat the Indian in straight sets, 17-21, 19-21, knocking him out in the second round.

Doubles falter

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty were outplayed by the world No 1-ranked Indonesian pair Marcus Fernaldi Gideon and Kevin Sanjaya Sukamuljo in straight games. In the first game, the Indians kept it tight at 5-5, but the Indonesian pair took the lead at the interval, 11-9. Though the young Indian pair managed to get the scores level at 13-13, the Gideon and Sukamuljo surged on from there to win the first set 21-15.

Gideon and Sukamuljo then showcased their game in the second set to take a 11-4 lead at the interval. Though the Indians fought hard after the interval, the Indonesian pair went on to win the second set 21-14 to move into the quarterfinals stage.

The mixed doubles pair of Pranav Chopra and Sikki Reddy lost to World No 1-ranked pair of Zheng SW and Huang Y Q in straight sets, 14-21, 11-21.