Srikanth shocks Jayaram; Sindhu in quarters

PV Sindhu powered into the quarterfinals of the Syed Modi International Grand Prix Gold, but the story of the day was Ajay Jayaram’s upset loss at the hands of his compatriot.

Sindhu had no problems decimating the challenge of Australia’s Victoria Na, 21-9 21-9, in 18 minutes, and will take on Indonesia’s Febby Angguni in the last-eight. The other strong contenders who have moved into the quarterfinals include Thailand’s Nichaon Jindapon (4) and Sapsiree Taerattanachai (3), Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara (6), and Indonesia’s Lindaweni Fanetri (7). Sindhu is the only Indian in the last eight of the women’s singles.

K Srikanth, who has rapidly developed into one of India’s best young players, solidified his reputation by taking down senior compatriot Ajay Jayaram in straight games. Srikanth, who won the Maldives International earlier this year and made the semifinals of the Macau Open last fortnight, was a comfortable winner over the second-highest ranked Indian player.

Among the Indian winners on the day was recent Tata Open winner Guru Sai Dutt, who subdued Malaysia’s Arif Abdul Latif 21-10 21-16, and HS Prannoy, who took just over half- an-hour to get past Indonesia’s Siswanto.

In the doubles, however, there were several reverses, including that of mixed doubles pair Pranaav Chopra/ Sikki Reddy, who were sent packing in 22 minutes by Fran Kurniawan/Shendy Puspa Irawati 21-9 21-14. Other Indian pairs, including Manu Attri/Sumeeth Reddy, Aparna Balan/ Sikki Reddy and V Diju/ Alwin Francis, all lost in straight games.