13 June,2023 06:04 PM IST | Jakarta | mid-day online correspondent
PV Sindhu (L), HS Prannoy (R) (Pic: AFP)
Star Indian shuttler PV Sindhu roared back to form, defeating Indonesia's Gregoria Mariska Tunjung in straight games in the opening round of the Indonesia Open World Tour Super 1000 event, here on Tuesday.
The two-time Olympic medallist and former world champion, who struggled with her form in the last two games where she made first round exits, took 38 minutes to prevail over her recent nemesis 21-19 21-15 and seal a pre-quarterfinal berth.
This was also Sindhu's first win against Tunjung in her last three games as she had lost to the Indonesian in the Madrid Masters final and Malaysian Masters semifinal earlier this year.
Sindhu overcame a stiff challenge in the first game when the local challenger led 9-7 with a crosscourt drop. Using her height to full advantage, Sindhu snatched the lead 11-10 following three consecutive errors by Tunjung.
Sindhu was in full flow in the second game as she finally managed to end her string of losses and extended her overall head-to-head record to 8-2.
Sindhu now faces an even tougher battle as she is next up against third seed Tai Tzu Ying. The Taiwanese star is on an eight-match winning streak against the Indian and overall leads 18-5 on head-to-head.
The in-form Indian shuttler HS Prannoy also started his campaign on a high note as he prevailed over Kenta Nishimoto of Japan 21-16 21-14 in 50 minutes.
The seventh-seeded Indian, who claimed the Malaysia Masters Super 300 title last month, next faces NG Ka Long Angus of Hong Kong in the round of 16.
Indian women's doubles duo of Treesa Jolly and Gayatri Gopichand lost in the opening round, going down to Rin Iwanaga and Kie Nakanishi of Japan.
The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist duo squandered their lead in the opening game to go down 22-20 12-21 16-21 in a one-hour 12 minutes fight.
(With PTI inputs)
Also Read: Badminton: HS Prannoy to lead India's charge at Indonesia Super 1000
