HS Prannoy and PV Sindhu, India’s top rated singles players, advanced to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open 2023. Priyanshu Rajawat also put in a strong performance to defeat WR-28 Wang Tzu Wei, and this is his first quarter-finals appearance since winning the Orleans Masters in April of this year.
Kidambi Srikanth began the tournament by defeating Su Li Yang in straight games. The former WR-1 was poised and calm throughout the match, and he finished it without incident. WR-10 HS Prannoy had to struggle through three games before defeating Chi Yu Jen (19-21, 21-19, 21-13).
Mithun Manjunath, 25, who overcame former World Champion Loh Kean Yew in the first round, fought hard against Malaysia’s number one Lee Zii Jia but fell short in three games. Mithun has previously struggled to complete games, having surrendered seven match points against Log Kean Yew but still managing to win the match.
Later in the day, Gayatri Gopichand and Treesa Jolly, the only surviving Indian doubles combo, were defeated in two games by Mayu Matsumoto/Wakana Nagahara (10-21, 20-22). The WR-20 had three game points in round two (20-17) to force a deciding but failed to finish, losing the second game and the match 20-22.
Featured Image: Sportstar TheHindu