In terms of world rankings, two-time Olympic medalist PV Sindhu and compatriot Ira Sharma do not match up. While former world champion Sindhu is ranked 18th in the world, Sharma is ranked 147th, and the outcome of their matchup is anyone’s guess. PV Sindhu, India’s top shuttler, got to the women’s singles quarterfinals of the Syed Modi International Super 300 badminton competition after overcoming a tough second-round match against fellow Indian Ira Sharma.
Despite a huge ranking gap between Sindhu at world No. 18 and Sharma at 147the match lasted three games. The outcome of their pre-quarterfinal match on Thursday at the ongoing Syed Modi International here was predictable, but it was Sharma who captured the hearts of the large crowd at the Uttar Pradesh Badminton Academy with her brilliant performance. Sindhu clinched a hard-fought 21-10, 12-21, 21-15 victory in 49 minutes.
PV Sindhu, who has not won a title since the 2022 Singapore Open, will face China’s 118th-ranked Dai Wang in the following round. Wang defeated India’s Devika Sihag 19-21, 21-18, 21-11 in the second round. Faced with the possibility of an upset, lanky Sindhu mounted a brilliant comeback to tie the scores at 15-15, before firing off six successive points to earn her ticket in the quarterfinals.
Indian Badminton re-building its empire
In the men’s singles, top seed Lakshya Sen defeated Israel’s Daniil Dubovenko 21-14, 21-13 to advance to the quarterfinals, where he will face compatriot Meiraba Luwang. Luwang secured his position by defeating Ireland’s sixth seed, Nhat Nguyen, 21-15, 21-13. In other men’s singles events, Ayush Shetty defeated Malaysia’s Hoh Justin (21-12, 21-19) and Priyanshu Rajawat defeated Vietnam’s Le Duc Phat (21-15, 21-8).
However, third-seeded Kiran George lost to Japan’s Shogo Ogawa in a three-game thriller, 21-19, 20-22, and 11-21. Unnati Hooda, 17, India’s new badminton sensation, defeated Thailand’s fourth seed Pornpicha Choeikeewong 21-18, 22-20 in 46 minutes. Hooda is the youngest Indian badminton player to win a BWF Super 100 World Tour championship by winning the Odisha Open in 2022 and started strong in both games.
