India’s Ace shuttlers PV Sindhu and Lakshya Sen have advanced to the second round of the Canada Open 2023 BWF Super 500 event in Calgary’s Markin-MacPhail Centre’s badminton courts.
Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu registered an easy 21-16, 21-9 win against world No. 62 Talia Ng of Canada in the opening round on Wednesday. PV Sindhu and Talia were neck to neck in the early stages. With the scores tied at 13-all, Sindhu unleashed a series of smashes to gain the upper hand and clinched the opening game. Sindhu carried the same momentum into the second game. Talia Ng of Canada briefly put up a fight and brought it close to 6-5. PV Sindhu’s intensity however was unmatched, as she scored seven straight points to easily win the match.
Two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu will next play Japan’s world No. 27 Natsuki Nidaira in the 16th round.
Meanwhile, Commonwealth Games 2022 champion Lakshya Sen defeated world No. 4 Kunlavut Vitidsarn of Thailand 21-18, 21-15 in a first-round of men’s singles match. Lakshya Sen and second seed Kunlavut Vitidsarn were closely contested in the first game, however Lakshya won the intense battle and took the lead. It was a closely fought game and Lakshya ensured that he seals the battle by bringing his best game forward.
On the other hand, India’s ace shuttler Sai Praneeth crashed out after losing 21-12, 21-17 to Brazil’s Ygor Coelho, who eventually will be Lakshya Sen’s opponent in the second round. Another India’s shuttler Gadde Ruthvika Shivani lost 21-12, 21-3 to Thailand’s Supanida Katethong in the first round of the women’s singles. Commonwealth games medalist Parupalli Kashyap also bowed out in the men’s singles qualifying round earlier.
India is riding all hopes on PV Sindu’s great comeback and Lakshya fighting spirit.
For all our readers, The Canada Open 2023 is the fourth Super 500 tournament of the 2023 BWF World Tour calendar, after Indonesia Masters, Malaysia Masters and the Thailand Open. (ANI)
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