Sindhu, Lakshya storm into 2nd round
Top seeds PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen advanced to the second round of the women’s and men’s singles, respectively, at the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton tournament after registering straight-game victories. Two-time Olympics medallist Sindhu defeated rising shuttler Anmol Kharb 21-17 21-15, while Lakshya, a 2021 World Championships bronze medallist, powered past Malaysian qualifier Sholeh Aidil 21-12 21-12.
Sindhu, who is returning to the tournament after a two-year hiatus, will next face compatriot Ira Sharma, who triumphed over Deepshikha Singh 21-13 21-19 in her opening match.
“I’m happy to be back here after two years. I couldn’t play last year because of injury, but it feels great to be playing on home soil again,” Sindhu said.
“I was playing against Anmol for the first time, and she did well. We’ve played together in the Asian Team Championships before, so I was confident. It was my first match, and I made some mistakes, but overall I’m happy with my performance.”
Lakshya will next face Israel’s Daniil Dubovenko. “It’s always great to play in front of the home crowd. I’ve competed here in the past, but right now, I’m focusing on my next match. My goal is to do well in the BWF tournaments and at the World Championships,” said Lakshya, the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion.
