2024 French Open: Sindhu, Srikanth storm to second round, Prannoy stumbles

Modified Mar 06, 2024 20:48 IST

Sudirman Cup 2023 - Day 2 — India in action on day two of the French Open

The second day of the French Open saw Indian stalwarts HS Prannoy, Srikanth Kidambi, and PV Sindhu take to the court in a bid to advance to the round of 16 in Paris. While Srikanth and Sindhu forged on ahead, Prannoy unexpectedly stumbled against China's Lu Guang Zu.

First in action among the three was former World No.1 and World Championships silver-medalist Srikanth Kidambi. The star was facing Chinese Taipei's Chou Tien Chen, and fans were prepared for an amazing and lengthy battle.

The duo certainly delivered, entertaining viewers with a thrilling marathon match that went the full distance. Kidambi got Indian hopes high in the first set, leading from the beginning before capping things off 21-15.

However, the next game saw a Taiwanese resurgence, with Chou going toe-to-toe with Kidambi and forcing a decider 22-20. The third set was set up to be an intense scene, but Srikanth quickly snuffed out any speculation about a comeback by storming ahead to a 16-5 lead and eventually sealing the deal 21-8.

A few hours later, PV Sindhu was in action on court one, and much like her compatriot earlier in the day, she delivered a match full of twists and turns.

Sindhu, who is making her first World Tour appearance since October, was facing Michelle Li. The last time the two clashed swords was at the 2023 Thailand Open, where the lower ranked Canadian emerged victorious after a three set battle.

Things seemed to be going on Li’s side today as well, as she took the first game 22-20. The World No.24 carried that momentum forward, leading 13-6 in the second set. However, a steely Sindhu showed some of her old moves to claw her way back into the game, taking Li to the decider 22-20.

The set game was another closely contested encounter with the Indian and Canadian swapping leads back and forth throughout. Eventually, Sindhu managed to forge ahead 21-19 and ensured a round of 16 appearance at the French Open.

Earlier in the day, seventh seed HS Prannoy had stumbled against the Chinese challenge of Lu Guang Zu. Prannoy, who was India's brightest singles medal hope in the event, just couldn't seem to find his rhythm on the court, falling short to Zu 21-17, 21-17 in just under an hour.

While the Chinese is ten rungs below Prannoy in the BWF men's world ranking charts, this defeat at the French Open marks the Indian’s third consecutive loss to the 27-year-old.