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Singapore, 28 May. Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen, who recently entered the top 10 of the world rankings, entered the singles quarterfinals of the $1 million Singapore Open Super 750 badminton tournament here on Thursday. But veteran HS Prannoy, who had ousted world number five Jonathan Christie a day earlier, lost after a three-game struggle.

Sindhu, who is ranked 12th in the BWF world rankings and has won the title here in 2022, defeated Riko Gunji of Japan 21-9, 21-12 within 37 minutes in the very first match of the day played on court number one of the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Now top seed Korean Ann Se Young faces Sindhu

Former world number one Sindhu, 30, will now face a tough challenge from top seed An Se Young of Korea. Sindhu has never been able to defeat Olympic champion Young before and has been defeated by her eight times. His last defeat was in China Open last year.

World number two Kunlavut withdrew due to back problem in front of the target

On the other hand, World Championship 2021 bronze medalist Amrohawasi Lakshya did not have to relent at all as he took a 2-0 lead in the first game when second seed Kunlavut Viditsaran of Thailand decided to retire due to a back problem. 24-year-old Lakshya, who has reached 10th position in the world rankings, will now face Koki Watanabe of Japan.

Prenay lost at the hands of former world champion Loh Kien Yu

But 33-year-old Prannoy’s campaign ended when he lost 18-21, 21-16, 15-21 to home contender and former world champion Loh Kien Yu in the 10th match of the day played on court number one in a match that lasted 61 minutes.

World Championship 2023 and Asian Games bronze medalist Prannoy made a fighting comeback in the second game after losing the first game and took the match to the third game, but in the deciding game, Loh Kien Yew proved to be too sharp and took advantage of the Indian shuttler’s unnecessary mistakes to win.

Satvik-Chirag campaign continues

Meanwhile, in the men’s doubles, fourth seeds Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty defeated Li Zhi Hui and Yang Po Suan of Chinese Taipei 21-15, 11-21, 21-18 in a tough match that lasted for an hour and made it to the last eight. The world number four Indian pair will now face Malaysia’s Khai Shing Kang and Aaron Tai Se.

Mixed pair of Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also in last 8

In the mixed doubles, Dhruv Kapila and Tanisha Crasto also reached the last eight. In the fourth match of the day played on court number two, they defeated Japan’s Yuta Watanabe and Maya Taguchi 8-21, 21-17, 21-16 after a struggle of 58 minutes. Now they will face third seed Chen Tang Jie and Toh Ee Wei of Malaysia.