Singapore, 26 May. Former champion P.V. Sindhu started her campaign with a comfortable win at the Singapore Badminton Open here on Tuesday. In the doubles, the famous pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty entered the second round with a tough win. However, Ayush Shetty and other Indian shuttlers who took the court on the first day had to face defeat.
Sindhu defeated fifth seed Indonesian Kusuma
Sindhu, ranked 12th in the BWF rankings, defeated fifth seed Indonesian Putri Kusuma Wardani 21-17, 21-18 in 44 minutes in the ninth match of the day played on court number two of the Singapore Indoor Stadium. 30-year-old Sindhu, who had won the title here in 2022, also leveled her record against Kusuma at 3-3.
Sindhu was in control in the opening game with a four-point lead. Although he suffered a brief setback, he soon bounced back and leveled the score at 16-16 and then won the first game by winning five consecutive points.
The second game saw a tough fight for every point, with Sindhu taking the lead at crucial junctures and eventually winning the match in straight games. Now she will face Japan’s Riko Gunji in the pre-quarterfinals.
Satwik-Chirag had to struggle for three games
In the 10th match of the day played on court number three, fourth seeds Satwik-Chirag won 26-28, 21-15, 21-13 over the American team of Chen Zi Yi and Presley Smith in a dilemma that lasted for one hour and 15 minutes.
Satwik-Chirag, ranked fourth in the world rankings, lost the opening game despite saving seven game points in a tough fight. The Indian pair made a strong comeback to take the match to the deciding game and then dominated the third game to win. They will face Lee Zhe-hui and Yang Po-hsuan of Chinese Taipei in the round of 16.
Ayush lost in a tough fight against Canadian Victor
But 20-year-old Ayush, last year’s US Open champion, made a good start against world number 12 Canadian Victor Lai in a 65-minute match on court number one and won the first game easily 21-11. But world No. 20 Ayush could not maintain his momentum and eventually lost the next two games 14-21, 12-21.
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