BWF World Championships: PV Sindhu stunned in first round, Lakshya Sen progresses

PV Sindhu

Former champion PV Sindhu's wretched run continued as she bowed out of the World Championships but Lakshya Sen advanced to the third round with a straight-game demolition of Korea's Jeon Hyeok Jin in men's singles here on Tuesday.

The most successful Indian at World Championships with five medals, Sindhu lacked any sting in her attack and went down tamely 14-21, 14-21 to old nemesis Nozomi Okuhara of Japan, a 2017 gold medallist and silver winner in 2019.

It is the first time in her career that Sindhu, seeded 16th, has failed to reach the quarterfinals at the prestigious tournament.

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In men's singles, Sen, bronze medallist at the 2021 edition, prevailed 21-11, 21-12 over the World No. 51 Korean. The Indian, thus, settled his score against the Korean, who had defeated him in their only meeting at the Asia Team Championship in 2022. The 11th seeded Indian is likely to face third seeded Kunlavut Vitidsarn from Thailand in the next round. Sen has a 4-5 head-to-head count against Vitidsarn.

Sen was alert and took the initiatives during the rallies, showing his retrieval skills, speed and shot selection to dominate the proceedings. The Indian lead 5-1 and slowly kept extending the gap against a struggling Jeon, who lacked the finishing punch during the fast-paced rallies.

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