On her mentor Pullela Gopichand’s birthday, PV Sindhu gave the best possible gift to her guru by entering the quarterfinals of the China Open Super Series Premier badminton in Fuzhou on Thursday.
It was a much-needed boost for the Indian camp after Saina Nehwal and HS Prannoy crashed out in the second round. Second seed Sindhu cut short Chinese qualifier Han Yue’s run with a commanding 21-15, 21-13 victory in 40 minutes. The world No. 2 dominated the match from the word go and taught a lesson or two to the 17-year-old Chinese.
Sindhu will now meet another local girl, Fangjie Gao, on Friday for a spot in the semifinals. Gao, world No. 89, is also a qualifier. Sindhu will be facing Gao for the first time.
After benefitting from the retirement of Nozomi Okuhara of Japan in the first round, Gao shocked world No. 21 Jang Mi Lee of Korea 21-16, 21-15 in the second round on Thursday.
Akane Yamaguchi yet again proved Saina’s nemesis as the fifth seed Japanese knocked out the ace Indian in the second round.
With 21-18, 21-11victory in 37 minutes, Yamaguchi handed the fourth straight loss to Saina. Prannoy, who reached career-best ranking of 10, went down fighting against Lee Cheuk Yiu of Hong Kong. The world No. 50 surprised the Indian with a hard-fought 21-19, 21-17 victory in 42 minutes.
